CoLab Women has been supporting women in Exeter for 7 years and women across Devon since 2018. CoLab Women makes a positive difference to the lives of women and children in the South West. We are passionate in our commitment to empower women and children. Women we work with include those at risk or who have faced abuse, loss, trauma, poverty, homelessness, and some who have been in contact with the criminal justice system.

CoLab Women offers a positive experience that is premised on a flexible, asset based, women centred approach. This enables each woman to develop strengths and seek to live life to its full potential, so that she, her family and the wider community all benefit. We understand the challenges women face and design services that are holistic and integrated to meet diverse needs. CoLab Women advocates for women, by working in partnership and leading on the development of women-centred policy and practice across the system that supports them.

We offer a non-judgemental, confidential, gender and trauma informed model of support to women, which is led directly by their needs. Our staff are highly skilled in supporting women facing multiple disadvantage and offer a flexible model of engagement, utilizing an ‘elastic tolerance’ approach that is able to support those women who find it most difficult to engage.

Creating safety in the moment is one of our drivers, and we directly support women fleeing violence and who would otherwise face rough sleeping to secure a safe place to sleep and reduce the associated risks.

We are ambitious for the women we support and work closely with them and other services to create pathways for future resilience, including access to learning and employment.

Our Women’s Centre model would offer a physical environment and safe space, run by a team of trained staff and volunteers, both during the daytime, and also at evenings and weekends.

It would be a place where women are offered wraparound support, a sense of belonging, access to safe accommodation options, a range of positive engagement opportunities, and a recovery and positive activity offer that would increase their confidence, self-esteem and skills for life.

We would also create opportunities to improve and promote health and wellbeing. This would include active fitness, healthy eating, access to mental health support, and inhouse sexual health and GP support.

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