SAFER PLACES

Providing safe, trauma-informed housing and support for women and children escaping domestic abuse.

Organisation: Specialist domestic abuse charity
Location: Essex and Hertfordshire
Partner Since: 2022
Resonance Fund: Women in Safe Homes Fund

About Safer Places

Safer Places has been supporting adults and children affected by domestic abuse across Essex and Hertfordshire for more than 45 years. The charity provides free, confidential and trauma-informed support, helping people experiencing abuse to find safety, recover from trauma and rebuild their lives.

Alongside specialist advocacy and recovery services, Safer Places works to ensure women have access to safe, secure accommodation where they can begin to move forward with confidence.

Our partnership

Since 2022, Safer Places has partnered with Resonance through the Women in Safe Homes Fund to provide safe accommodation for women escaping domestic abuse.

Through the partnership, the fund has acquired homes that offer an alternative to traditional, high-occupancy refuges. Instead, women are able to live in shared houses or flats with just one other resident, providing greater privacy, stability and independence while continuing to receive specialist, trauma-informed support from Safer Places.

Impact

The Women in Safe Homes Fund has enabled Safer Places to provide six safe homes for women escaping domestic abuse, expanding access to specialist accommodation at a time when demand continues to outstrip supply.

By offering shared houses and flats as an alternative to traditional, high-occupancy refuges, the partnership provides women with greater privacy, stability and independence while they access trauma-informed support. This model creates the space and security needed for women to recover, rebuild their confidence and begin planning for the future.

By combining social investment with specialist domestic abuse services, the partnership is helping more women move beyond crisis towards lasting safety, recovery and independence.

“During the pandemic, it became increasingly clear that the traditional model of fully shared refuge spaces no longer met the evolving needs of survivors. In response, we adapted our approach by developing smaller, more private units. Thanks to this opportunity from the Women in Safe Homes fund, we were able to expand our services to include a cluster of “dispersed” safe accommodations units which offered greater flexibility, privacy, and safety for survivors and their families at a time when they needed it most.” Jayne Gentry, Director of Operations, Safer Places

read our latest social impact report