Commissioner secures £30k to help children overcome domestic abuse

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire John Dwyer has successfully secured £30,000 from the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Critical Support fund, with the aim of providing services to help children and young people who have suffered or witnessed domestic abuse.

The funding will see the PCC commission the Healing Together Facilitator Programme provided by Innovating Minds, to give additional training and support which can enable facilitators to help and support more children impacted by domestic abuse at an early stage.

Police and Crime Commissioner, John Dwyer said: “I’m extremely pleased that our bid to the MoJ’s Critical Support Fund has been successful. The service that I will commission using the funding will help children and young people who witness and perhaps may have fallen victim to domestic abuse.

“Working with children and young people who’ve had these experiences early on is vital to help them process what’s happened, but also potentially break the cycle of behaviour they believe to be normal. I look forward to seeing the service roll out across the whole of Cheshire, providing that additional wrap around support for some of our youngest victims.”

Dr Asha Patel, CEO & Clinical Psychologist at Innovating Minds, said: “We are delighted that children across Cheshire will be able to access early trauma informed help help by people they trust, and in a space they feel safe. Access to early help for children impacted by domestic abuse will support children’s emotional and mental health, relationships, and their engagement with education.  This innovative approach will create a sustainable impact which is crucial to ensuring children can continue to access this intervention post funding.”

The training provided by Innovating Minds can be provided to anyone who works on the frontline with children impacted by domestic abuse and are willing to work from a trauma informed approach. Those who can be trained include:

• Early help workers
• Victim support workers
• Social workers
• Educational staff (pastoral staff) working in mainstream and alternative provision
• Behavioural support teams
• Domestic abuse organisations
• Refuges

If you’d like to find out more information about programme contact Deborah Merrick, Relationships Manager, via emai:

deborah@innovatingmindscic.com