Rhea
In partnership with Solace Women’s Aid, the Rhea project (2017-2023) provided stable accommodation and tailored support for women fleeing domestic violence with their children.
Why was the project needed?
Refuge services can be inaccessible and unsuitable for many women fleeing domestic violence. In some cases, they cannot stay as they have an older male child with them or have support needs that are not available in a mainstream refuge. For some women, the choice is between staying in an abusive relationship or becoming homeless.
In partnership with:
The Housing Solution
Rhea housed women and their children through a joined-up model between Southwark Council and Solace Women's Aid (SWA). By drawing on the resources and capabilities of partners, the housing model combined three areas of progressive practice. Survivors were identified and referred via Southwark Council's housing team and then assessed by Solace support workers. Following this, women and their children moved into one of the eight properties Commonweal provided to SWA at a subsidised rent, where they received one-to-one support from SWA.
Each woman benefited from tailored practical and wellbeing support for up to 12 months from a dedicated support worker, helping them recover from trauma and equipping them with the tools needed for independent living. Rhea was designed to allow women fleeing abuse to recover while at the same time preventing them from becoming homeless.
Project outcomes
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The evaluation found that Rhea helped women feel empowered and more confident, improved their mental and physical health, as well as their ability to ‘hope and dream’ for the future.
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A stable home also helped improve women’s financial situation and ability to maintain a job, which is vital to ensuring survivors can begin to regain their independence.
"I feel so powerful now, so much stronger. I think a lot of it is that I was really listened to for the first time in my life, it feels great.”
Rhea resident
Key Learnings:
In 2021, Commonweal released an Interim Evaluation of the project which found widespread benefits of the partnership model.The aim of the pilot, and consequently the evaluation, is to identify whether a partnership between Housing and service providers through a systems approach can lead to better outcomes for women who are fleeing domestic abuse and other forms of VAWG and who have low to medium support needs.
The project was found to have positive impacts on women and children in the following ways:
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Women reported improvement in emotional and psychological well-being, feeling more confident, empowered and better able to ‘stand up for their rights’ as well as being able to ‘hope and dream for the future’.
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The project helped reduce the offending behaviours of the perpetrator, helping women become safer as well as increasing their understanding of domestic abuse, so they were confident they would not be ‘drawn in’ to abusive relationships in the future.
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Women’s financial situations improved and they were more able to sustain employment.
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The project helped women with their parenting and relationships with their children improved, and their children were more settled and engaged at school.
Angela's story
Angela and her young daughter have been supported by the Rhea project since June 2017. For several years Angela suffered both physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a violent partner. Angela was frightened by the abuse, and kept her situation a secret from her family and friends. Exacerbated by excessive alcohol consumption and substance misuse, Angela’s partner became increasingly violent towards her. It was following the birth of her daughter that Angela took the brave decision to flee the family home.
Traumatized by her experience, when Angela was referred to Rhea by Southwark Council she feared for her future and the future of her daughter. With the care and support of Solace Women’s Aid, Angela has begun her road to recovery. Building on the balance of independent living and long-arm support provided through the Rhea project, Angela has enrolled on an Access to Nursing Course and hopes to become a qualified nurse. Alongside her daughter Angela has begun to address her past experience, moving closer to the independent, capable women she deserves to be.
*Names have been changed
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