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 transitioning to and from 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 with parents to address child-parent violence.
Keywork with children and young people to recover from domestic violence experiences and support social/emotional learning.
Referral to and advocacy with statutory, community, and therapeutic services to support education, health, and well-being.
Children's court accompaniment.
Direct psychoeducational work with young people under 18 experiencing their own domestic violence relationships.

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.

Empower Kids

This project is led by Barnardos and 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.

Child & Youth Focused Groupwork Projects

The Child & Youth Service designs and facilitates groups for children, young people, and mothers based on emerging needs within the service. We deliver seasonal projects for children and families, including summer, Christmas, and midterm activities and trips. Some of the groups we are currently delivering include:

Parents Peer Support Group

This 12 week group programme is designed with mothers who are victims/survivors of domestic violence. It recognises the challenges of parenting children and young people impacted by domestic violence and the need for space to explore this through shared learning/peer support. The parenting group sessions alternate over the course of the programme with self-care/wellbeing focused sessions to relieve stress, promote emotional wellness and support positive parenting.

Wellbeing Group

This 6 week group is designed for 6-18 year old victims of domestic violence and aims to support well-being, positive mental health and resiliance building.

TLC Kids

SDVS deliver TLC Kids across South Dublin and West Wicklow in partnership with the lead agency, Barnardos, other DSGBV agencies, and community services. 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.

To make a referral to any of the services above please use the form below

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