Charity celebrates 35 years working with victims of domestic violence

THRESHOLD DAS is not a name one would instantly recognise, nor their buildings located throughout Llanelli and other parts of Wales. That may well be for very good reason. The charity established 35 years ago in a converted home have been helping the victims of domestic violence, predominantly women. They now work with the perpetrators and try to find ways of uniting families. They have managed to survive through the hard work and dedication of their volunteers and through some very generous help and donations from places like Carmarthenshire County Council.

Today, Tuesday (Nov 26) the charity held a celebration at their offices in John Street and congratulated one member of staff having completed 25 years of service.

Today’s event was upbeat with cakes, sandwiches and refreshments. A large number of dedicated volunteers gathered to celebrate their success. Staff were keen to point out that there was still a lot of work left to do and that funding the future was something, which would need support.

CEO of Threshold DAS, Victoria  spoke about how far the charity had come since opening their doors.

Victoria said: “The issue (domestic violence) is taken very seriously. We are optimistic the funding will come in for the life changing work we are doing with women and men., We are pleased with the support we are getting from organisations.”

Celebrating her 25 years with the charity Gita said: In the early days we started with volunteers. The local authority supported us to get a building of our own. We then were able to recruit paid members of staff. We now have a purpose built refuge with six bedrooms. We have a database around Wales. The whole organisation has worked together to improve. Through social media and the media domestic abuse has become more recognised. It has been behind closed doors. More women and men are now coming forward for the support we offer.

Threshold DAS has the following core values.

The Core Values are principles that guide Threshold DAS internal conduct and its relationship with external agencies. These include:

• Women and children centred services
• Support for men who are victims of abuse
• Assistance for perpetrators to change their abusive behaviours
• Respect for individual beliefs and value
• Violence towards others is unacceptable
• Equality for women
• Commitment to breaking the cycle of abuse, promoting individual growth and development
• Commitment to innovation, investing in staff resources
• Commitment to working in partnership
• Commitment to consultation and service user participation
• Provision of services that are value for money – effective and efficient use of resources, putting public money to good use
• Lobbying / Campaigning for rights for women

Threshold DAS is Pro-Women and not Anti-Men

You can find out more about the charity and the services they offer by visiting http://threshold-das.org.uk