Project
North Warwickshire Alcohol Related Domestic Abuse Project
Description:
The Swanswell programme to help tackle alcohol-related domestic abuse in North Warwickshire was launched as an eight-week pilot project in September 2008. The project was commissioned by the Warwickshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team, in partnership with Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership, and has been extended to other areas within the region.
The project involves six sessions of brief intervention with the perpetrators of domestic abuse who have come before the courts, and a similar intervention programme for the victims focused on safety.
A central feature of the intervention is to devise a manageable way for the perpetrator to change his or her drinking behaviour. All of Swanswell's alcohol workers receive extensive training and throughout the programme we use recognised models for analysing past habits, explore likely “triggers” for violence and introduce “stages of change” model as well as a risk assessment planning.
Attendance rates for the sessions were high and during the pilot scheme a 68% retention rate was achieved, this was 8% greater than expected. The number of referrals during the pilot (56) was also more than twice the figure (25) that had been initially envisaged.
Project status: Ongoing
Project type: Project
Project code: 5YSV