Services
The programmes and support we offer range from providing you with refuge to strengthening your family unit. Here's how.
Women
We offer confidential services with the aim of increasing your awareness of potentially harmful situations to help mitigate the risk to your physical, mental or emotional safety.
We do this through providing emotional support, safety planning, referrals within our partner network as well as additional resources you may need.
Through our strong community connections, we help you understand what solutions and options might be right for you within the Hutt Valley.
Our services specifically cater to your needs and the needs of your family, without judgement from us. We walk beside you to move you towards physical and emotional safety, well-being, control over your own life and self-determination.
Our programmes are designed to:
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Proactively create pathways centred around your self-defined goals
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Improve your life circumstances through plans that reflect your goals and desired outcomes
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Partner with you to ensure your rights and interests are heard and represented
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Navigate you to what wraparound services and additional resources are available based on your specific circumstances.
Children
Our Children's Safety Programme is a Ministry of Justice approved programme for children aged 3 - 18 years who have witnessed or experienced family violence. It progresses over a period of ten weekly sessions in a warm, supportive, and creative environment.
The groups are led by experienced facilitators with appropriate qualifications and in-depth understanding of the impacts of violence and abuse on women and children.
We focus on establishing outcomes that are centred around each child and their unique world. These include:
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Developing a safety plan for your child, with your child and/or their siblings and whānau
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Identifying and creating their community of 'safe people'
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Educating your child on what abuse and violence is
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Helping your child identify and manage their feelings and worries
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Teaching your child about anger - what it is and how best to express it
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Growing confidence to give your child a voice
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Understanding your child's hopes and dreams around living and staying in a safe home.
Following programme completion, individual review and family/whānau meetings are optional along with an opportunity to review changes in family structures and behaviour.
Tree of Life Programme for
Children
The “Tree of Life” is an exercise based on the idea of using the tree as a metaphor to tell stories about one’s life. As a counselling method it helps find a sense of calm for those who have been traumatised in life by medical or family problems.
In our programme your child is invited to think of and then draw a tree. We use the imagery of the tree as below to help your child manifest their world from thoughts to paper:
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Roots: the roots of the tree are a prompt for children to think about and write on their tree where they come from (village, town, country), their family history (origins, family name, ancestry, extended family), names of people who have taught them the most in life, their favourite place at home, a treasured song or dance.
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Ground: the ground is the place for children to write where they live now and activities they are engaged with in their daily life.
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Trunk: the trunk of the tree is an opportunity for children to write their skills & abilities (i.e. skills of caring, loving, kindness) and what they are good at.
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Branches: the branches of the tree are where children write their hopes, dreams, and wishes for the directions of their life.
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Leaves: the leaves of the tree represent significant people in their lives, who may be alive or may have passed on.
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Fruits: the fruits of the tree represent gifts children have been given, not necessarily material gifts; gifts of being cared for, of being loved, acts of kindness.
This programme is a follow on from our Children’s Safety Programme.
Women's Safety Programme
The Women's Safety Programme is a Ministry of Justice approved programme for all women who choose to understand and deal with the impacts of abuse in theirs and their children's lives.
Through this programme you will discover avenues of safety and family structures which provide for yours and your children’s well-being.
The groups are led by experienced facilitators with appropriate qualifications and in-depth understanding of the impacts of violence and abuse on women and children.
Our weekly programme provides a supportive and creative environment where you can share your stories, dreams, ideals and hopes for you and your children. Facilitators will work with the change process to enable you to move from the family/partner dynamic of power and control to a position of empowerment and identified strengths. We also believe the knowledge you gain in these programme sessions will also be beneficial to your immediate and extended family.
The approach to discovering your autonomy and restoration of self-esteem will be enhanced with information on:
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The cycle of and effects of family violence
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Safety planning
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Healthy relationships
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Men’s programmes
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Family restructuring; and
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Legal processes which may apply.
Following programme completion, individual review and family/whānau meetings are optional along with an opportunity to review changes in family structures and behaviour. In addition, post-programme evaluations completed by you enable our facilitators to make improvements to the programme to ensure we are continually improving our service.
Safe House
Safehouse accommodation is available in crisis / safety situations only. It is provided on a temporary basis and an assessment is required.
Crisis Line
Our Crisis Line is staffed 24/7 and offers confidential, non-judgemental support for women and children who are in crisis and require urgent support.
Creative Writing Programme
The Creative Writing Programme explores different forms of creative writing, including memoir, prose, and poetry, as ways of developing confidence and self-expression. Each course produces a book of work featuring the writing of participants (anonymously, if preferred).
This five-week course offers a unique creative writing programme for women who have been affected by family violence. Run by the Write Where You Are Trust, one afternoon a week you’ll work with a group of talented Wellington writers and teachers. Hosted at the Hutt Valley Women’s Refuge this is open to anyone may find this a constructive outlet. No previous writing experience is necessary.
The Trust has run this course since 2016 across Refuge’s in Auckland and Wellington in response to a call from women in Refuge for an opportunity to develop their reflective writing skills.
Wrap-Around Services
Our team are well-connected within the community and work with you to create pathways to reach your self-defined goals. In addition to the services listed above, we can help you navigate the various services and other agencies you may need.
These include:
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Protection Orders
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Parenting and legal
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Liaison with Police and the Courts
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Victim support
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Domestic Violence leave
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Support with WINZ
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Budgeting
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Legal Aid.