Access this service
About the service
If you feel that you need to leave the North Down area for your own safety, North Down and Ards Women’s Aid can help you access refuge accommodation in other areas of the UK.
Our refuge is fitted with CCTV and is in a confidential location. You will have the opportunity to live in a safe, secure and supportive refuge where you and your children can recover from the traumatic effects of domestic abuse.
Being away from an abusive environment enables you to consider the options available and make informed choices about your future. You and your children will have your own support worker to guide you through the process of moving in, and discuss your options when you are ready to move on.
Refuge support services include:
- safety and support planning
- practical assistance in accessing benefits
- application for permanent housing
- financial management advice
- liaising with solicitors, PSNI, Social Services and other agencies if required, and
- programme of play and social activities for children.
When you move on from refuge you can access support in the community from our Floating Support Team.
North Down and Ards Women’s Aid can help you moving and settling into new homes and aftercare provides ongoing support and also enables women to support one another.
Every year in Northern Ireland, around 2,000 women and children stay in Women’s Aid refuges.
Mental health and wellbeing support
- Relationships
- Sexual violence
- Domestic violence
- Financial abuse