Swale Borough Council has earned a national 'gold standard' for its work supporting residents facing domestic abuse.
The Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) awarded the council its top accreditation, highlighting its effective procedures for responding to abuse.
This work is seen as a critical part of the council's services.
Domestic abuse is a factor in 22% of all homelessness cases the housing team manages, showing the complex challenges staff support residents with every day.
The DAHA accreditation confirms the council's ability to:
- identify domestic abuse early
- prevent further harm to those at risk
- work with partners to help hold perpetrators accountable
To achieve the standard, DAHA assessed the council on three key areas:
- Procedures - having strong policies, well-trained staff, and accurate record-keeping.
- Partnership - working closely with other local organisations and sharing information safely.
- Response - providing an excellent, risk-focused response for survivors
Cllr Hannah Perkin, chair of the council’s Housing, Health and Communities Committee, told SFM News: “The number of people dealing with domestic abuse is deeply concerning, and we are committed to tackling this issue through all our services. We want to make sure our teams, particularly in housing, are best equipped to offer compassionate and effective help. This recognition from DAHA shows that our approach is working. Our staff are increasingly dealing with more complex and distressing cases. This award is a credit to their hard work, providing vital support to people on a very difficult journey.”
Jonathan Nelson, DAHA Regional Lead – North West, told SFM News: “Congratulations to Swale Borough Council on achieving DAHA accreditation, this is a huge success, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the ever-growing team of DAHA accredited members. Swale has shown exemplary practice throughout the assessment processes and have exceeded expectation of the accreditation in some areas, particularly around Safety Led Case Management and Partnerships & Collaboration, creating a best practice model for accreditation".
Mr Nelson went on to add: "It’s widely known that this is not an easy accreditation to pass, so we want to acknowledge the work that everyone at Swale Borough Council put into ensuring that this project was successful. The assessment process highlights that the response that you have adopted in providing a survivor led, trauma informed, co-ordinated community response not only saves lives but improves the quality of lives for service users and staff.”
Donna Hearn, SATEDA's (Swale Action To End Domestic Abuse) Senior Community Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, told SFM News: “We have developed a great relationship with Swale Housing team and have worked together with many families and victims of domestic abuse. The team are always very supportive to help those hard-to-reach victims - offering more flexibility with appointments. Swale (Borough Council) are very knowledgeable of domestic abuse; they recognise the limitations and barriers victims face and offer a trauma informed approach. We feel very lucky to have such a supportive and understanding housing team, which gives us confidence when we refer or signpost victims to get support when fleeing or require housing support or advice.”
You can find out more about this accreditation by visiting:- https://www.dahalliance.org.uk/membership-accreditation/what-is-daha-acc...
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