We are delighted to announce that our Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (DAPP) at Fresh Futures have been awarded £39,990.56 from the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund.
This was part of a joint bid with EdShift, a community group who provides a space of safety, belonging and community, using the arts to transform the lives of children affected by domestic abuse and violence.
The Safer Communities Fund is part of an initiative by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, and has seen £1 million awarded to support victims of serious violence, hate crime and trauma and help promote community safety and steer young people away from criminality.
‘Little Nests’ will a rolling programme running over 12 weeks, supporting six children who are victims of domestic abuse. The sessions, run by Edshift will provide a safe and creative environment for them to reconnect with peers, encourage them to socialise through play and creativity and improve their resilience.
A key priority of this initiative is to hear and empower the child’s voice through the art program in order to achieve behaviour change in the perpetrators. The learnings from the Little Nest programme will be included within Fresh Futures’ domestic abuse perpetrator programme – their feelings and experiences will be fed directly into sessions with male perpetrators to help them understand the impact of their behaviour.
“This funding is key and will further build on Fresh Futures’ goal of challenging beliefs around abuse. Children are often the ‘forgotten victim’ in domestic abuse cases and this programme puts children at the heart of the intervention and also supports children to disclose the impact their home life has had on them.
The support EdShift offers will create a safe space to develop safety plans and confidence in children. This work, which incorporates art, drama and music therapy, is then presented back to the abusive parent within the programme to hopefully give them the message that their behaviour has been impactful. “
Jonathan Fell, the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (DAPP) Service Manager.
The programme launched last month and will be running until October 2024 thanks to the funding secured through this vital initiative.
Find out more about DAPP here.