Tilly joined BCHA in October of 2023 after finishing her studies at Bournemouth University.
“As I was finishing my English Literature degree I was reading up on feminism. Specifically, I was learning how female authors were able to use their platforms to spread awareness and to encourage action. This is what inspired me to work with women who were facing adversity or whose voices weren’t heard. I wasn’t sure what role specifically I wanted to have at first, but when I saw the advert for a Domestic Abuse Support Worker, I knew I had the passion to make a difference.
“I work within the Poole refuge, which has 18 female spaces and one male space. I work with a team of two additional support workers and a senior practitioner. We have a great team who have a lot of similar values and opinions. We all have individual caseloads, but we ensure we are up to date with all our Refuge customers to ensure if someone is off sick or on holiday our customers receive the same level of support.
“My week consists largely of weekly one-on-one support sessions, where we go through and identify exactly what needs they need support with. This could be substance abuse, housing or financial issues or emotional support. We also hold additional domestic abuse support sessions. These are key for learning how to identify red flags that may lead to a cycle of abuse and complement regular support sessions. We repeat these sessions until our customers are ready to move on.
“One of my favourite parts of my role is really being able to advocate for the victims. Being able to see the learning and growing through their journey is something that is really special to me. Seeing our customers regain their independence and autonomy is a privilege.”
Our customers learn to understand their challenges and reclaim their experiences. They go from a victim to a survivor and completely change their mindsets.
“As part of our customers journeys, we strive to build community connections within the refuge. We host weekly group sessions of various activities, such as yoga classes and cooking classes. We also regularly hold jewellery making sessions, with some of these items being sold to raise money for the Refuge or for additional causes.
“As well as working in the Refuge, I also do extra work to support BCHA’s cause and to raise awareness of our work. I regularly help with events or campaigns, such as those around International Women’s Day. This year, I took part in a Women-only celebration event that was held at The Wight Bear in Bournemouth in honour of International Women’s Day. I did a talk for the attendees about the refuge and some key information around Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). We raised over £300 that night for our customers at the refuge.
“In the future, I would love to be able to have a platform for my activism work.”
I adore my job. Every day is a new day of learning, supporting, guiding and growing, but also every day is a success. There are big wins and small wins every day!
“One of my biggest achievements has been supporting women who come into our service pregnant. I have had three of these customers so far. All of my customers have been able to satisfy social services’ concerns and been signed off as safe. Being able to not just advocate for women but for their unborn children is so special to me.
“The BCHA values and behaviour really resonate with me, as they reflect my own personal values. It means absolutely everything to me to be able to work somewhere that hold the same passions and values that I do.
“I like to think that I have learned a huge amount about the sector during my time with BCHA, but I am still learning every day. I have recently trained to be a Freedom Facilitator as part of the Freedom Programme. The programme helps victims of domestic abuse learn the cycle of abuse and how to break free from this. I have now started facilitating the Intense Freedom for 12 Days at our head office, The Factory, which I am so excited about!”
Faith Shimongola, Senior Practitioner for BCHA's Domestic Abuse Services in Dorset, said "It has been a beautiful experience to watch Tilly grow in confidence in her role and absolutely thrive as a support worker. Remaining positive in the face of challenges and ensuring the customer voice is captured and heard by others has been her core strength and she is a wonderful colleague to all in the wider Domestic Abuse team."
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