Career profiles
Tessa
Community Support officer
Whilst studying Criminal Justice at the University of Central England, I initially wanted to work with rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders back into society. One of the optional modules of the course was to do a work placement. I was fortunate to do my placement at Victim Support. Victim Support is a victim focused support service, which support all victims of crime. I was able to support victims in their own homes as well as in the office and provide them with emotional and practical support. Working at Victim Support ultimately changed my goals and perception of the criminal justice system. I developed a deeper understanding and empathy towards victims. After my placement I decided to stay on as a volunteer, which opened up an opportunity for me to join the domestic violence team, which lead to me gaining employment.
After my graduation and work at Victim Support, I gained further work experience at Halesowen Women’s Refuge as a Refuge Support Worker. My work role involved me supporting women and their children who had fled domestic violence. Every day was different and presented different challenges, from general admissions into the refuge to one to one support. Working in a women’s refuge gave me valuable insight to the actually lives of women escaping domestic violence.
The opportunity arose for me to work as a Community Support Worker at Sandwell Women’s Aid. My role involves me supporting women within the local community whether they have left an abuse relationship or are still living with abuse. As a support worker, I provide emotional support to women, as well as safety planning, court advice/ support such as Non-Molestation Orders, liaising with other agencies/ organisations such as the police and housing, facilitating support groups and domestic violence awareness training. My role encompasses a variety of support and advocacy that is geared to encourage, advise and support women and their children with their safety being my paramount concern.
Working at Sandwell Women’s Aid has provided me with the opportunity to further my career, I have been able to develop my skills and gain valuable experience. In April 2007 after much frustration with the criminal justice system, I was supported by my Manager to pursue alternative methods for safe guarding women and successful learnt how to do DIY Non-Molestation Orders, which has been used for the protection of many women I support in the community. Through rapid changes to our Community Support Team, I have also been given the opportunity to become an IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) and I’m await training dates.
The working environment is very supportive and my ideas have been valued and channeled enabling me to create my own projects such as a successful self defense class for the women of the community in April 2008 and a new project commencing in September 2008 for children to express themselves through a creative workshop, which entails song writing and a production of music CD at a music studio in Wales.
No two days are the same which provides for a varied work role and different challenges. The Community Support Services Team are a great support to each other and the friendly banter through out the office makes for a good environment, which is needed and comforting when dealing with many aspects of domestic abuse. We all have different expertise in our field, from language skills to knowledge of the criminal justice system which adds value and experience to our team. My experience of working at Sandwell Women’s Aid has been extremely positive for my career progression. I am an established and experienced Community Support Worker and have achieved far greater than I ever expected.
