TDAS are asking shoppers to add a little gift to their baskets for a child or adult living in refuge. Receiving a Christmas gift can mean so much to someone who has needed to flee their home due to domestic abuse. Sam Fisher, TDAS CEO said “Christmas can be a difficult time for the families we support. Children can miss their toys and home comforts, and it can be very hard for parents too.”

Trafford Domestic Abuse Services is a local charity supporting those who are suffering from domestic abuse. As an INTU fountain fund supported charity, TDAS will be in the INTU Trafford Centre all day on Saturday 23rd November collecting donations of gifts (unwrapped), financial donations and telling people about their work. If you want to support the appeal but can't come along that day, don't worry there are other ways to get your gift to us.

TDAS are delighted to have been selected to receive £29,579 from Homeless Link, part of the Government’s Tampon Tax Fund. These funds will allow us to provide a specialist service to support and advise women affected by abuse and homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

TDAS’ children and young people’s service have been confirmed as finalists in this year’s Children and Young People Now Awards! To have our work recognised at a national level in these prestigious awards in the advice and guidance category is a real honour and is testament to the innovative work and dedication of our children and young people’s team.

The winners will be announced at the award ceremony which will take place on Thursday 28th November.

TDAS spent the day at intu Trafford Centre on 8th August meeting members of the public. Build-a-Bear generously donated a bear for our ‘Guess the Name of the Bear Completion’.

Sophie correctly guessed that our bear was called Muffins!
Congratulations to Sophie for winning Muffins the bear.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition.

Do you want to run for TDAS? Why not fund-raise for a local charity where all proceeds made go towards supporting women, men and children who have been effected by domestic abuse.

This Tuesday 27 November intu Trafford Centre is teaming up with us for #GivingTuesday to give support for our families who will be staying in our safe houses over Christmas by donating a toy for the children or gift for the mums. And we need YOUR help!

We will be in the centre all day on #GivingTuesday with a special kiosk to launch our Christmas campaign which will allow visitors to donate a gift for less fortunate families this Christmas. Items needed include clothes, toiletries, household appliances and even toys to ensure local children don’t go without this festive period.

If you can support with a gift or donation, come along and see us we will have a stall outside Vodafone on Lower Peel Avenue this Tuesday. On the day there will also be a range of activities on the kiosk for families to get involved in including:

Christmas Card decorations – 11am, 2pm, 5pm & 8pm
Christmas Bauble Decorations – 12 noon, 3pm, 6pm & 8pm
Christmas Dream Catcher Decorating – 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
Meet Hamley Bear from Hamleys (throughout the day)

So why not pop along on the day and help give more to the families most in need of a helping hand this Christmas.

Trafford Domestic Abuse Services (TDAS) is delighted to win new funding from the ‘Tampon Tax’, granted via Community Foundations for Lancashire and Merseyside to support female victims of domestic abuse. TDAS will be running special courses open to those living or working in Trafford. True colours - which helps participants understand the effects of the abuse suffered and how to recognise unhealthy relationships. Back to me – helping women move past and recover from traumatic experiences through confidence and assertiveness building. Benefiting nearly 100 women, TDAS’ team of domestic abuse specialists will use these proven programmes running throughout 2019 to aid women in their recoveries.

Key to the success of the courses is combatting isolation experienced by victims due to a partner/family member’s controlling behaviour. The groups of victims/survivors learn together, support each other and create a safe space for experiences to be shared and reflected on with expert guidance.

Small groups of 10-12 participants, of a variety of ages, take part in weekly work for 6 to 8 weeks. Participants come from all walks of life. The curriculums use multiple teaching styles and activities with group work and individual reflection based on case studies and other materials.

Sam Fisher, Tdas CEO commented, “We are so excited to have this funding for programmes for our local community. We’ve previously seen these courses provide such fantastic results in the lives of the women who participate. It can be really life-changing!”

To find out more or to participate in a future course visit www.tdas.org.uk or call 0161 872 7368

TDAS (Trafford Domestic Abuse Services), a local charity supporting those affected by domestic abuse, wishes to thank all those who participated in the TDAS Ladies Lunch Event at Cresta Court Hotel, Altrincham on Sat 15th June. A fabulous afternoon was had by all, with sparkling reception, delicious two course meal and entertainment from Heidi Lu and a drama performed by MaD Theatre highlighting the affects of domestic abuse.

Sam Fisher, TDAS CEO commented “We were delighted so many ladies supported the event and we were thrilled to showcase the MaD Theatre drama “Blackeyes and Cottage Pies”. The drama is performed in local secondary schools allowing us to engage young people creatively with the issue of domestic abuse before we deliver specific lessons on the topic. We also thank everyone involved for helping us to raise these funds which will go to supporting this important domestic abuse prevention work”.
For more information about how to get your school involved contact TDAS at admin@tdas.org.uk

TDAS Children and Young People Service won the UK Fast Community and Education Award for its fantastic success in supporting Children and Young people affected by Domestic Abuse. Samantha Fisher, TDAS CEO “We are so proud of the excellent work done by the TDAS Children and Young People team with support from our volunteers. We thank the judges for selecting us as the ‘Community Project of the Year’, it is a great recognition of the high quality of the support we’re offering to children and young people affected by domestic abuse.”

Our Children and Young People’s service works very hard to support those who have been affected by domestic abuse; this can be within their family or in their own relationship.

R'Space is our programme that works with children between the ages of 5 and 13 to help them after witnessing domestic abuse. This is very valuable course which supports children dealing with their feelings about what they have witnessed. The course is powerful in breaking any isolation that they may feel and giving them a safe place where they can speak about it whilst meeting other children who have had similar experiences.

Speak Out, Speak Now is a course for older teenagers, this course teaches them about healthy relationships and is successful in changing attitudes about what is healthy, unhealthy or abusive within a relationship. This helps young people to have good relationships in the future and to spot the signs of unhealthy or abusive behaviours. BBC Children in Need fund these courses, which we are very grateful for, allowing us to run them regularly gives timely support to children and young people.

We also offer one-to-one support for those children and young people who need additional help. We work with schools throughout Trafford to engage their pupils in developing a greater understanding of domestic abuse and healthy relationships.

For more information about any of our work, please contact the team info@tdas.org.uk

Read all about the impact of TDAS' True Colours course on Carrie who recently participated.
"I found the course really amazing and life-changing in so many ways. It was the best group ever. "

We are hugely grateful for the funding we receive from the Community Foundations for Lancashire and Merseyside, through the Tampon Tax Community Fund, which allows us to run the True Colours regularly.

Before I was a Local Councillor I worked in another area as a Housing Manager for a Housing Association. I remember one occasion where a woman came into the office. It was a winter’s day and it had been snowing. She was in crisis. As she sat there talking to me, her eye was swelling up. When she had been out in the cold, the swelling had been suppressed, but as she was warming up her eye just began to balloon! ...
Continue reading by clicking the link

Global’s Make Some Noise Emergency Appeal is supporting small UK charities particularly affected by Covid 19. TDAS has dealt with an unprecedented volume of calls during the pandemic.

We featured on LBC radio where Vicky, a domestic abuse advisor at TDAS, reflects on her own experience of domestic abuse and how victims during lockdown have found it even harder than usual to flee and to access the support they need. TDAS has responded creatively to ensure individuals receive the support they need.

A huge, huge thank you to everyone who supported Global's Make Some Noise

Emergency Appeal. It raised over £1,700,000 to help small charities like TDAS, a tremendous result! Thanks to all who undertook challenges, participated and donated.

In 1987 three women incensed by the lack of support given to women experiencing domestic abuse decided to create the first women’s refuge in Trafford. They fundraised for three years until in 1990 they were able to take on and renew a derelict building. Their first challenge was to make it habitable and then to make it a place of safety, welcome and solace for women experiencing domestic abuse. This was the start of Trafford Women’s Aid.

Over the years we’ve expanded our services to not just provide refuge, although this continues to be a very important service, but also to provide services in the community and support to children whose families are experiencing domestic abuse.

We changed our name in 2012 to Trafford Domestic Abuse Services (TDAS) to reflect the fact that men also experience abuse and we are proud to support and help them. Over the years we’ve helped and supported thousands of people to break free from domestic abuse and to move on to a much happier future.

We want to thank all those who over the last 30 years have played their part in making TDAS what it is today; whether founder, staff member, volunteer, funder or individual donor – you have made a real difference and without your unique contribution TDAS would not have been able to help so many people! Thank you!

TDAS is pleased to announce that since 1st April 2020 we are providing the IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate) service in Trafford, with all current cases being seamlessly transferred. This service supports victims of domestic abuse over the age of 16 who are at high risk of harm. Our IDVAs provide professional support and guidance to victims of domestic abuse throughout their journey from crisis to safety. This is achieved through collaborative working within a multi-agency framework where the safety of the victim, and their children, is always at the heart of any work undertaken.

Sam Fisher, TDAS CEO, commented “Having the IDVA service within TDAS provides a front door for Trafford families and individuals effected by domestic abuse offering holistic support and allowing for the fluidity of risk, it enables cases to be rapidly escalated to an IDVA, as soon as an increased risk is detected. This will ensure victims get quick support in an intensifying situation.” “Unfortunately, the coronavirus lockdown has meant that many more cases of domestic abuse are escalating, with victims experiencing increased control and isolation. We are still offering lots of support during the outbreak. We’re providing a callback service for all enquiries this is to help us deal with the current high volume of calls and to prioritise the cases requiring a rapid response.”

For more information visit www.tdas.org.uk/idva
Call 0161 872 7368 or text 07534066029 (if safe to do so).
Alternatively email info@tdas.org.uk