I want someone to support me

Safe Spaces

Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal, and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church or as a result of their relationship with the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales. They can offer support including:

providing you with information (including information on church and criminal justice procedures and options)
reporting abuse to the Diocesan safeguarding team with you or on your behalf
attending meetings with relevant agencies and professionals alongside you
helping you complete paperwork and applications
helping you to access listening services, counselling, or therapy (including funding)
helping you to make an official complaint about a member of clergy
helping you to receive an apology or accountability
helping you with any appeal processes or complaints
providing signposting and referrals to partner and other agencies for further support, including solicitors for legal advice and mental health professionals and services
Providing emotional support alongside practical guidance and assistance

More information about their support can be found here.

Support Person

If you wish, a support person can be appointed for you by the Diocese, with your consent.

They can support you in different ways, including

Support within the community and the Church.
Listening, being alongside you.
Liaise between you and the Church about the management of your safeguarding disclosure.
Explain support being offered and assist you to choose and engage with the support options that meet your needs.
Supporting you during meetings with statutory services and other professionals.

Assisting you with exploring how your longer-term spiritual and welfare needs can be managed.

If you would like to explore accessing a support person, you should contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer Beth Miller
Address: Cuthbert House, Stonebridge, Durham DH1 3RY
Email: beth@bethmillerisw.co.uk | beth.miller@durham.anglican.org
Mobile: 07968034075. Alternatively, you could use one of the survivor advocacy services listed below and they could make the request on your behalf.

Spiritual and Pastoral support

Spiritual and pastoral support can be important for some victims and survivors who for example may have a need for a theology that can assist them to make sense of their traumatic experiences or wish to make arrangements to worship in a different church, to prevent re-traumatisation.

Victims and survivors with faith, or those who wish to explore faith, understandably, may have great difficulty in reconciling the Christian teaching of a loving God with the reality of their abuse. Some Christian survivors also struggle with the notion of “forgiveness”, as they may think of it as absolving their abuser of their criminal conduct.

Spiritual and pastoral support may assist in the exploration of these issues.

If you would like to explore accessing spiritual and pastoral support you should contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer Beth Miller
Address: Cuthbert House, Stonebridge, Durham DH1 3RY
Email: beth@bethmillerisw.co.uk | beth.miller@durham.anglican.org
Mobile: 07968034075. Alternatively, you could use one of the survivor advocacy services listed below and they could make the request on your behalf.

Interim Support Scheme

The Archbishop’s Council has established an interim support scheme. This Scheme is not intended to provide compensation or restitution to survivors, nor is it a redress scheme. The Scheme is intended to give immediate help and support to survivors whose life circumstances are significantly affected by the abuse suffered, and the response to it. The Scheme is designed to address immediate and urgent needs that help in the short-term to put the survivor’s life back on track.

If you would like to make an application to the interim support scheme, please visit the Church of England website www.churchofengland.org