Support Services for Men
Society often forgets that men can be victims of domestic abuse too. This can make it difficult for men to access the support they need because of fears about not being believed, or not being treated equally by agencies. However, Hafan Cymru provides support services for men experiencing domestic abuse, including young men and male headed single parent households who require support, to assist them in meeting their needs and to enable them to develop the necessary independence to take control over their own lives.
Hafan Cymru has a Young Person’s Project in Wrexham where we support both young men and women. We offer a holistic approach to the provision of support to young people aged between 16 and 25 with a wide range of needs – including those who are homeless, have experienced physical, sexual or psychological abuse; are recovering their mental health; ex-offenders; substance abusers. Our projects specialise in assisting those who have been ‘looked after’ by the local authority, those 16 and 17 year olds who are particularly young and vulnerable and those who are pregnant or have a small baby. We aim to ensure our young people can maintain themselves in an independent home within the community.
Our schemes vary in nature. Some consist of a shared house leading onto self-contained flats or floating support and some are blocks of flats. In all cases the young people are encouraged to help themselves and give each other mutual support. Each person receiving support is allocated a key worker who provides an individually tailored package of support to each service user. Our structured support package enables young people to develop the skills and confidence needed to move on into independence. Our Moving On project also provides access to training, education and employment.
Young people can normally stay with the project for up to 18 months. The level of support given to service users will normally be individually negotiated between them and their key support worker, depending on their needs.
- Floating Support Services
Hafan Cymru offers outreach and floating support services to men in some areas. Our floating support offers support services to men living in their own home and is targeted at vulnerable men of all ages, both those with children and single men, and we can support older men and those living in rural areas.
Each person receiving support will be allocated a Project Co-ordinator as key worker; who provides an individually tailored package of support to each service user and to his children, if he has any. Our structured support package enables men and their children to develop the skills and confidence needed to maintain themselves in an independent home within the community. Our lifelong learning project, Moving On, also provides access to training, education and employment.
Our floating support can provide men with low, medium or high support. The level of support given to service users will normally be individually negotiated between them and the Project Co-ordinator, depending on their needs. An out-of-hours service is available for emergencies in most areas, excluding those areas where we are not funded to provide this. The length of time someone can be supported varies with the individual. Normally the support starts fairly intensively –2 visits or more visits a week – and will then become less frequent as the individual service user becomes more self-confident.
- Application for Housing Support