MP Alan Campbell opens 'inspirational' Wood Green centre for domestic abuse survivors (From Haringey Independent)

MP Alan Campbell opens 'inspirational' Wood Green centre for domestic abuse survivors

1:38pm Thursday 2nd July 2009 in

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MP Alan Campbell said the Government was committed to tackling domestic violence when he visited Wood Green this morning to formally reopen a support centre for those trying to get their lives back.

Hearthstone Domestic Violence Advice and Support Centre, in Commerce Road, provides those experiencing or trying to break away from domestic violence in Haringey.

It contains all the relevant support services under one roof such as housing officers, counsellors and police community support officers.

Those at the centre bring together a wealth of experience having worked in the field for several years and are adequately prepared to deal with complicated cases sensitively.

One user, called Tina, said: “Hearthstone helped me realise that I deserved better for myself.

“I had been with my abuser for four years and wanted to leave him. I was at rock bottom but Hearthstone supported me through it and prepared me for the hard times that were still to come.”

Mr Campbell was also generous in his praise for voluntary sector workers admitting that without their dedication and effort, police and local authorities would struggle to reach and support most victims of domestic abuse.

He said that conviction rates had gone up from 46 per cent in 2003 to 73 per cent per cent in 2008 but added that more work was still needed.

The Labour minister said: “For some people, work is just a job. But what workers in the voluntary sector do is change lives and, in some cases, save lives.

“Domestic violence is a devastating crime. At it's heart is harm. It harms individuals and families. It harms the whole community.

“So while I am here, not only would I like to say thank you for the work the police, Haringey Council and the local services and workers do, but I would also like to say that the Government is committed to supporting you.

“Behind every statistic is a person or a family that is being torn apart. That's why it is essential that victims are at the centre of everything we do.”

Nilgun Canver, cabinet member for enforcement and safer communities, also told Mr Campbell that more funding was needed to help rehabilitate perpetrators of domestic violence and to support the many women who had no access to public funds such as those awaiting decisions for residency in the UK.