Mission Statement
The mission of SWA is to act as a stimulus to develop lasting positive change by actively challenging harmful belief systems and practices that act as the root cause of all forms of abuse within the Sikh and Panjabi community.
Our goal is to empower victims to take control of their own lives to become survivors by breaking free of toxic cultural practices that seek to disempower vulnerable members of the Sikh and Panjabi community especially those with language barriers, that prevent them from accessing the right kind of help and support.
Aims
Our aim is to reduce the extent of harm and violence to vulnerable people, with greater emphasis on women and children with language barriers, in the Sikh and Panjabi are subjected to. We will achieve this via three key strands of service delivery: -
- Crisis Intervention and support.
- Prevention via awareness, community workshops and training.
- Mental health support and resilience building in women and children.
Public benefit will be to setup and deliver services via a Three Strand Model of Support which will provide culturally sensitive support and benefit those reaching out to us for the relief of need in the following ways:-
1. Crisis Intervention and support for victims via: -
a) One to one support for victims of Domestic Abuse, Child Sexual Exploitation, Grooming and honour-based violence by experienced support workers. They will carry out needs assessment to identify and put together targetted support plans based on individual circumstances.
b) Assisting victims with their housing and shelter needs via signposting to local councils, referrals to women’s refuge services, helping secure temporary and long-term accommodation.
c) Helping victims access financial support and legal aid where required via DWP, local government grants and other avenues that are appropriate to fund items needed by victims of abuse who are restarting their lives post separation from an abusive partner.
d) Emotional support for victims of gender-based abuse via a dedicated helpline number and dedicated email address.
e) Working with victims to report abuse to the police via a team of experienced bi-lingual support workers and liaising with police structures where the victim's code has not been adhered to.
f) Advocacy for non-English speaking victims access required support and services via a team of bi-lingual support workers as identified in needs assessment and subsequent support plan.
2 Prevention and early intervention via:
a) The creation and publication of information to be used for awareness campaigns and covering domestic abuse, the victims code, legal advice and other relevant information.
b) Weekly bi-lingual show to specialist TV and radio channels that cover faith and culture to discuss emerging themes from crisis intervention work to inform wider communities and empower victims to seek help.
c) Community engagement exercises via surveys, and online consultations to gather grassroot voices and experiences of victims of abuse to feed into publications to further the aims and objectives of the charity.
3. Mental Health Support and Resilience Building via:
a) Providing a bi-lingual support network via appropriately managed social media channels for guidance for socially and economically disadvantaged women.
b) Partnering with Sikh and South-Asian therapists for specialist and culturally sensitive mental health referrals as identified in individual needs assessments.