Stepping Out into Central Bedfordshire

//Stepping Out into Central Bedfordshire

Stepping Out into Central Bedfordshire

We don’t just work in Luton!

The Stepping Out project provides support to women living in Central Bedfordshire who are victims of abuse or are vulnerable in other ways. It’s funded in 16/17 by Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner as part of their commitment to ensuring that people living across the county have equal opportunity to access services which support them if they’ve been a victim of crime. It also aims to support people who may be at risk of offending to get their lives back on track.

The project is led by Debbie (pictured) who talks about the project below:

“When I first found out that I had been selected to lead the project I was really excited as I recognised there was a real need for support in Central Bedfordshire.
 My work is for 3 days a week, normally Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. This includes some evenings. I cover all areas of Central Beds, offering support to women and their families within the community.
 My work includes helping women and the families recover from domestic abuse. This could have been physical or emotional. I also support women with drug and alcohol problems, who are homeless or who suffer with depression and mental health related illnesses.
 I also work alongside families that have social care involvement, helping them with the care plans in place and making sure their voice is heard at meetings, court and appointments.
 The support I can offer is very varied and designed to suit individual need. It includes:
  •  One to one support delivered within the family home or in community locations, whatever is preferred by the individual.
  • A fortnightly evening drop in service 6.30pm – 8.30pm running from Shefford at the local Children’s Centre.
  • A group programme called A1 Mums. This 10 session programme covers self, esteem, the choices we make, assertiveness, emotions, and triggers to negative behaviour. It’s scheduled to start again in Leighton Buzzard in January.
 Women can refer themselves for support or support can be via a professional working in the area. To make a referral please click here.
 I’ve seen that women can find it difficult to get support in Central Bedfordshire. This could be due to working full time, not having the correct support in their area, not being able to drive or struggling with finding the confidence to go somewhere new and join a group.
 This is a much needed area of work and the partnership working has been excellent. I hope that the need is recognised and that the support we deliver will be able to continue after March 2017. “
By | 2018-05-15T23:54:09+00:00 November 29th, 2016|Uncategorized|0 Comments

About the Author:

Stepping Stones was set up in May 2008. We are a registered charity (Charity number 1162349) offering free, confidential and non judgmental support.

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