Coventry City Council is set to receive a grant of almost £900,000 to help continue providing safe housing and support for victims of domestic abuse.
The grant of £885,733, is for the coming financial year that starts next month and follows similar amounts over the past two years.
The Council, along with other local authorities in the UK, was given extra duties through the Government’s Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to look after and protect victims of domestic abuse and their children.
The funding is to help the Council meet these legal duties.
Following the launch of the Act in 2021, the Council talked to victims – adults and children - and with their help, and with partner agencies, designed a new programme of support.
As well as safe housing, this included work such as counselling and emotional support for children and young people; mental health support and counselling for adult victims; one-to-one support for children, including abuse awareness; helping with legal support; immigration surgeries; and delivering positive parenting programmes.
There is also work to ensure victims and their children can remain safely in their own homes where possible.
The support has included the appointment of extra practitioners to help children through the Wish Project, a free and confidential support service in Coventry for children and young people affected by domestic violence and abuse
Further work has been carried out with Coventry and Warwickshire Mind Space 2 Thrive to help reduce victims’ symptoms of post-traumatic stress; and with other agencies and partners such as Haven and Panahghar.
Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council and Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, said: “Sadly, our city, like all others, is home to adults and children who have fallen victim to the terrible crime of domestic abuse and we have a legal and moral duty to protect them and offer support.
“That is a duty we take very seriously, but we must have support from Government to do that and this latest grant-funding will allow us to continue the vital, life-saving work underway in the city.
“The projects being carried out by the Council and its partners support our One Coventry Plan to help make communities safer, improve the health and wellbeing of residents and protect our most vulnerable people.
“Domestic Abuse affects all communities everywhere and we must work together as a city to help victims and break the cycle of abuse by educating children and giving them access to the advice and support they need.”
The funding will be discussed at a meeting of Coventry City Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 12 March 2024.