Save our CYP Service

Our Children and Young People Service (CYP) is very much in demand and our CYP workers support hundreds of abused children every year, this year will be no exception. 
 
These children are living with trauma, fear and instability as a result of abuse in their homes. They need specialist, domestic abuse-informed support from trusted practitioners who understand their experiences and can help them feel safe, recover and thrive. For children in our community, TDAS is the only specialist domestic abuse service able to provide this level of support at scale. While we work closely with partners across health, education, voluntary sector and children’s services, most mainstream provision is not designed or resourced to meet the specific needs of children affected by domestic abuse.
 
Due to lack of funding, the CYP team reduced from 11 staff members to 9 at the back end of last year (2025), immediately impacting the amount of children we’re able to support.  Sadly, things are about to get worse as from April 2027 the majority of funding for our CYP Service will end completely, leaving hundreds of children without access to specialist support meaning that children already living with the impact of abuse may be either turned away or placed on long waiting lists with no interim support.  The majority will be left without the specialist help they need at a critical point in their recovery.
 
In 2026, TDAS will be focusing on raising £280,000 to protect our Children and Young People’s services and ensure that children affected by domestic abuse are not left without the support they need and deserve.
 
In 2025, we supported 2,088 adults and 564 children who were either still in an abusive relationship or had left their situation but still needed support.  Of these, 93 adults and 65 children spent a period of time in our refuges, or moving on properties.
 
We also supported 236 adults and 133 children through our group programme’s.  This is where we help victims understand what had happened to them and give them the tools needed to start moving forward.
 
Our domestic abuse training was popular last year, we educated 744 professionals on various aspects of domestic abuse and educated 2301 children on what healthy relationships should look and feel like.
 
TDAS have advocated for years about children being victims in their own right, they don’t ‘witness DA’ they experience it, and the effects are just as traumatic. This message is increasing since the DA act now recognises Children as victims in their own right but the funding and services are not following so there’s still work to be done.