Our volunteers are the co-founders of the group and survivors of domestic abuse themselves. It may be that parents are wanting to build confidence and self-esteem, need parenting strategies and support or a place to discuss issues with peers in a similar situation.
The Phoenix Support group have guest speakers and professionals to offer further knowledge and activities that can assist this cohort. Children are welcomed to attend with their parents and resources will be on hand to provide them with a meaningful experience. We operate in and around Welwyn and Hatfield.
Contact with children can be one of the most challenging and heart-breaking elements of separation. We are here to help you get quality time with your children by working with both parties and providing a full service.
We start with an initial 30-minute meeting with both parents and the children, so we can get to know everyone. We offer this in person or virtually, over Zoom for example.
Working around your schedule, we are available on weekdays, evenings, as well as weekends. To ensure you get enough quality time with your children, sessions can last up to 4 hours.
A short report is completed by us after every visit so we can track progress and display evidence, should you at any point need to. The report is shared with you.
One of our experienced family support workers will accompany you to the venue of your choice to observe the interaction between you and your child. We are not there to tell you what to do and how. We observe and offer advice and guidance only when you ask for it. We believe in a light-touch approach to enable meaningful engagement between you and your child.
Ensuring you and our family support workers are a good match is a priority for us. We take requests and ensure effective matching of staff to clients based on any particular specialisms, such as learning difficulties or disabilities, gender requests, or cultural matching.
We are stronger together. Within our community, you will not only meet people who are/were in your situation, but also gain access to advice and past experience from us, and other members.
– Meet people with similar experiences.
– Learn from and get advice and support from other members
– Access to regular zoom calls and meetups
– Access to support from us including legal support
Complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Senior Family Support Worker and IDVA
CEO
As I left an abusive relationship. I was in my final year to qualify as a counsellor. I had to stop the course due to false allegations my ex-partner made.
It has been 4 years and each court has found me not guilty. In the last hearing my ex-partner was found guilty of parental alienation. In the last 4 years I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen my children.
I contacted various agencies to be told they only support females. Although some of these agencies cater for males, the waiting list to seek emotional help was over 1 year, and no group therapy was being offered.
After two suicide attempts I sought help from *Phoenix, attending group therapy on a fortnight basis that increased to weekly. I was also provided with a one-to-one counsellor. I have no idea how many, probably over 30 sessions. I have just started sessions with a life coach which has been amazing.
In this environment I made some lifelong friends, I was given support and realised that the system was gender biased, this was a great relief as I thought it was simply because I wasn’t being believed.
The group therapy managed my expectations. I thought two years was bad, there were dads who had been at court for 8 years and still struggling to enforce child arrangements orders.
I was offered help with short courses including mediation, a conversational leadership course, group therapy, one to one, we also worked with the female group which was also a big part in removing my unconscious bias that the system was gender bias.
I found a place where I could express my pain and bereavement at the loss of my daughters. Listening to other non-resident parents talk about the numerate court adjournments and delays, this prepared me for what I had to experience.
I lost my career, my life savings and faced Criminal trial for false allegation. I also had to cope with the bereavement of my daughters. I was unstable and lost all hope in the system that was meant to be there to protect me.
Phoenix have helped me accept the situation and move on in a positive manner. This has had a positive effect with how I communicate. In short Phoenix has moved me from a victim mentality to something more positive.
I felt alone and isolated and suicidal. I do not believe I would have survived the numerate court cases and false allegation if it was not for the support of Walk the Walk.
*Phoenix is a service offered within Walk the Walk Family Support Service for both male and female survivors of domestic abuse.