The Barnet Homes Domestic Violence Refuge and One-Stop-Shop initiatives have extra cause to celebrate their fourth anniversary this spring.

This week Barnet Homes received the news that they will be able to carry on delivering their vital domestic violence support services for another year.

The Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP, announced £16.6 million for 75 projects across the country to help fund domestic refuge services.

Barnet Homes led the bid in collaboration with Barnet Council to maintain the Domestic Violence Refuge and One Stop Shop for another year. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) awarded £100k to Barnet.

Barnet Homes was also part of another successful bid, totalling £749,312, for the Women in Safe Engagement and Recovery (WiSER) Plus+ Project with seven other boroughs (Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest).

The WiSER project works with women experiencing domestic abuse with severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD), mental health problems and substance abuse which are too complex for mainstream support services to address. The WiSER project targets women who have not engaged with support services for an extended period of time.

This is part of a wider government drive to bolster protection for survivors of domestic abuse, including the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill which is due to reintroduced.

Robert Jenrick MP, said:

“Domestic abuse destroys lives and leaves victims living in fear in their own homes – the place where they should feel most safe and secure.

“No victim of domestic abuse should have to struggle to get the right support, or wait months for help that they need. This new funding of £16.6 million will help local areas better protect victims and their children and provide essential life-saving services, delivering the urgent support that they need to rebuild their lives.

“Domestic abuse is a devastating crime which shatters the lives of over two million survivors and their families every year.”

Domestic refuge services funding in detail here