Child & Youth Services

SDVS recognises that children and young people are victims of domestic violence in their own right and deserve specialised support and early intervention to recover and heal from domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV). We design and collaborate on projects with this focus, aiming to support families through wraparound services in our accommodation services or through community outreach.

The INSPIRE Family Project

The INSPIRE Family Project supports families through targeted, wraparound support through either refuge or community outreach. The INSPIRE Family Project provides support to children and their mothers to encourage secure attachments, foster resilience and break the cycle of intergenerational domestic violence. Each child and young person will have different needs, but interventions offered through a family care plan can include the following:

Support for transitioning to and from the refuge.
Breakfast and afterschool support in Refuge.
Parents' support, including practical family support and engagement with evidence-based programs such as Theraplay and Parents Under Pressure, to support attachment and positive parenting.
Non-violence resistance training for issues of child-parent violence.
Critical work with children and young people.
Referral to and advocacy with statutory, community, and therapeutic services to support education, health, and well-being.
Children's court accompaniment.

The INSPIRE Family Project name reflects the project’s aim of achieving Inclusion, Nurturing relationships and safety, children meeting their Potential, creating positive Interactions, fostering Resilience and Empowering children and mothers.

Child & Youth Focused Groupwork Projects

The Child & Youth Service designs and facilitates groups for children, young people, and mothers, such as well-being programmes for children and parent peer support groups. We also run seasonal projects for children and families, including summer, Christmas, and midterm activities and trips. In addition to these internal projects, the team collaborates on National Childhood Domestic Violence and Abuse Projects in partnership with the lead agency, Barnardos, other DSGBV agencies, and community services.

Empower Kids

This project showcases the lived experiences of children and young people, raises awareness of domestic violence’s impact on children, and provides a platform for children to share their stories using Lundy’s model of participation. The Child and Youth Workers support SDVS’s child clients in engaging in this project.

TLC Kidz

This 12-week psycho-educational program is for children aged 5–18 and their mothers. It focuses on early intervention and recovery from domestic violence, offering parallel sessions for children and mothers. The aim is to raise awareness of domestic violence’s impact on children, help them heal from trauma and support mothers in understanding their children’s experiences.