In-house Operational Team

We have four highly trained and experienced Project Workers who deliver high quality support to empower women to take control of their lives, enabling them to gain confidence and live independently. Our project team is skilled in working with adults and children who have experienced trauma and have been trained in cognitive analytical therapy case management, which helps our residents to break away from unhelpful ways of relating to themselves and others as a result of their past trauma experiences being acted out in the present. Our Project Team is trained to deliver the Domestic Abuse Toolkit to the women, individually and in groups, to empower them by raising their awareness of the impact and dynamics of abusive relationships.

The project team operates our 24-hour domestic abuse helpline- 0151 643 9766 (option 2), giving advice to women experiencing abuse, and guidance to professionals from other support organisations.

In addition, our Outreach Worker provides personalised support to women fleeing domestic abuse who may have more complex needs such as unresolved mental health needs, substance misuse and offending behaviour, to assist them to achieve successful independent living.

Our Family Link Workers work closely with children and families to provide therapeutic intervention through play, support and advocacy. They implement programmes of work with children of all ages, individually and in groups, to enable children to develop positive coping strategies so that they feel safe to talk about and understand their feelings about the abuse they have witnessed. This helps to improve their relationships and helps to break the cycle of abuse. They help to empower mums by offering parenting sessions and run activities in the refuge and out in the community. In addition to CAT, Family Link Workers are trained in Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs. They run an ACEs group and provide Outreach Support to children in the community.

We have an in-house Handyman and Housekeeper who work to maintain the refuge to a high standard.

 

Friends of the Refuge

The Friends of the Refuge was founded to encourage regular giving and has been our lifeline; helping us to overcome difficult times and providing for our families in need.

The Friends support us by raising awareness of the refuge, promoting donations and arranging fundraising events. The money they raise goes directly to our families when they are in need of extra support and can pay for items such as school uniforms, food and furniture for the rooms.

Trustees

Wirral Women and Children’s Aid is governed by a board of trustees who are volunteers from a diverse range of backgrounds, including education, legal, health care and accounting to name a few.

The board is chaired by Meg Marshall and consists of seven members, who commit their skills and experience towards the growth of the organisation and ensure that governance is maintained to a high standard.

They act in the charity’s best interests, manage our resources and help us to comply with our legal duties to make sure we are accountable in our practise.

Patrons

Wirral Women and Children’s Aid has four well known and respected Patrons who lend their name as a way of supporting our charity.

The Rt Hon. The Lord Field of Birkenhead CH DL

Dr Katy Kidd

Dame Lorna Muirhead DCVO DBE

Mr Stephen R Ross 

Samantha Hillas KC

They have chosen to represent our cause, as preventing domestic abuse is something they feel passionately about. They help to raise our profile and bring in vital donations.

 

Charity Shop

Our shop, managed by Diane and a team of volunteers, is the face of WWACA in the community. All money raised by donation of saleable goods goes directly to our women and children and helps to sustain our refuge. The families in refuge and those we work with in the community can access any items they need from the shop and sometimes volunteer if it's safe for them to do so. This is an invaluable opportunity for them to build confidence and re-engage with the community.

 

Participants Group

Our Participants group was formed in 2018 and is made up of former residents and women we have supported over the years. They help us by giving an insight into our operations from a service users point of view. This has been incredibly valuable to us and has enabled us to develop our services to be more in tune with our residents needs and point of view.

The participants meet regularly to help us develop areas such as marketing, policies, welcome handbooks and have become a part of our interview process when we hold open days to give their views on prospective candidates.