Causeway and Mid Ulster Women’s Aid operate two Refuges – Coleraine and Cookstown.
Refuge is emergency accommodation which is available to women and their children experiencing violence in their own homes.
Staff are on duty 24 hours a day either in the refuge or on call.
Each woman and her children are offered their own bedroom and communal kitchen, bathroom, laundry and recreation facilities. Refuges have disabled access and facilities for families with particular challenges.
Regular house meetings ensure that the women can contribute to the service provided and can raise any concerns or share information.
Women can be supported by each other as well as the trained staff and volunteers. Trained Child Workers provide a programme of activities for the children and young people individually or in a family setting.
Support is an integral component of refuge provision and is facilitated by a team of trained Women’s Aid workers. Each woman is allocated a key worker who will assess her individual needs and together with the woman devise a support plan in response to the identified needs. Practical support is given to access other agencies and services ranging from housing to legal advice.
