Hartlepool domestic violence agency reports 25% increase in referrals since covid pandemic began

Representatives from Harbour, the Hartlepool-based agency which provides support for individuals and families affected by abuse, said they have seen an ‘increase in complexity’ of referrals during the pandemic.

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Service manager Danielle Chadwick told the Hartlepool Borough Council audit and governance committee they have faced some ‘huge challenges’ working though the pandemic.

She said: “We’re seeing approximately a 20 to 25% increase in referrals [compared to last year’s figures] but what we’re also seeing is an increase in the complexity of our referrals.

“There are a lot more cases with significant mental health problems, signification drug and alcohol problems, and as a result of that people are staying within our service for a longer period of time

“As much as there have been some huge challenges, and we are still seeing a heavy number of referrals coming through, we are responding as quickly as we can and we are supporting people as much as we can throughout.”

It was noted at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, Harbour did not initially see a rise in referrals coming forward.

However after carrying out considerable engagement work, including online and social media promotion, they began to see the increased demand come forward.

Ms Chadwick said: “We have been operating throughout Covid and as you can imagine there have been challenges from the start of the first lockdown going back to the end of March time.

“We did a lot of work right at the beginning of the pandemic about sharing information, raising awareness and making sure that people were aware that we were still here to support them.

“After a couple of weeks of really plugging this on all our social media platforms and with partner agencies, we then did see a steady incline in referrals which has remained all the way though.”

She noted steps put in place to support those in need include an online chat facility to allow victims to report incidents, while a great deal of partnership work has also been done.

Ms Chadwick added refuges have remained open under tight operational guidelines, including full PPE for all staff, increased hand washing facilities and a no visitors policy.

She also noted extra funding has been provided from the local authority, which has been used to bring in staff to provide ‘twilight shifts’, and these are focused on tackling boredom and building confidence.

She said: “Our staff have been onsite and working face to face and putting their own lives and families at risk and we’ve had to really appreciate that too.

“Staff have been very resilient, we’ve put additional training on for resilience and for their mental health and their own feelings and challenges relating to lockdown and coming to work everyday.

“Without our staff we’re nothing, so they are very important to us.”

Councillors on the audit and governance praised the continued work of Harbour during the pandemic, with chair Cllr Ged Hall stating it was ‘tremendous’.

Cllr Brenda Harrison added: “I think it’s brilliant that you’ve managed to keep open, it’s such a challenging area anyway, and with all this added to it, it just makes it more challenging.

“It’s good to hear that you’ve got things in place to help the staff and to make sure their mental wellbeing is looked after.”

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