November 18, 2019

Shine Bright like a Ruby

On Friday 25th October our Ruby @ Turnaround service welcomed women supported by the service and professionals from across the sector to an open day exploring how we can work together to better support victims of domestic violence…

Our Ruby @ Turnaround service supports victims of domestic violence. Our expert team provide specialist counselling, understanding the complexity of the issue and the very personal situation that each and every victim has and/or is experiencing. The unfortunate reality is that some people don’t even know that they’re experiencing domestic violence and their close relationship with the perpetrator can often make the situation feel impossible to break free from. That’s why Ruby began as a discrete service for victims admitted to hospital; the hospital being a safe space where they could discuss what they’d been through with people who understood this and could help.

Based on the fantastic outcomes that Ruby has achieved since 2014, the service has now expanded and been able to open its doors. Ruby @ Turnaround (as the service is now called) is now accepting referrals from other agencies and self-referrers. To celebrate this fantastic journey the team welcomed fellow experts and colleagues in the field to an open day on Friday 25th October at Eleanor Rathbone House. And there was one question firmly on the agenda: How can we work together to better support victims of domestic violence? People from across the sector discussed this idea and heard from some experienced speakers in the area of domestic abuse; Lawry Simm, detective inspector for the Vulnerable Persons Referral Unit and our very own trustee, Dr Kim Heyes who’s also an academic in policy evaluation and a lecturer in abuse studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.

But as ever with this sort of celebratory event the section that really summed up the reason behind the gathering was hearing the very real and raw stories of those supported by the Ruby @ Turnaround service. Four women who’ve received support from the relentlessly open-minded and determined team found the courage to stand up and talk to an audience of professionals about their experience.

Their completely honest and unapologetic accounts of their emotions before, during and after their experiences, along with how they felt towards the agencies supporting them left everyone feeling a sense of pride in just how far they’ve come. One woman told a story of how she was left for dead, another of how she is slowly overcoming suicidal thoughts after her past experiences and another of how she was still in the midst of legal proceedings after facing the ordeal of being left homeless whilst pregnant, so many miles away from her home country. Their tremendous journeys are still very much in motion and by giving them the pedestal to share their stories to support others and inspire service growth in the future we really hope that they feel ever more valued, appreciated and important. Without them, this service would never have been created and without their insights it would be impossible for Ruby to grow.

Our Ruby @ Turnaround team respect each and every person that they support so much and it was fantastic to hear that this feeling is very much mutual. So many comments were made about just how amazing our staff have been in supporting these people and truly being a light in their darkest times, a friend to trust when all trust has been lost. The women speaking truly shone.

Our Ruby @ Turnaround service is so pleased to be able to accept referrals and we’d like to remind you that anyone experiencing domestic abuse can contact them on ruby@pss.org.uk or 0151 702 5500.