VALUE BASIS

Our values of cooperation, kindness and persistence are reflected in our concrete actions in relation to the work with the women and children who come to us. We are convinced that the women exposed to violence who come to Ellested Women's Crisis Center have a desire and an intention to change an unsatisfactory life situation.

It is our vision that women and children who have stayed at Ellested Women's Crisis Center will live a life without violence in their close relationships in the future. By creating a safe environment for women and children and supporting them in focusing on their own worth and agency, we believe that we are getting closer to achieving this vision.

We want to work closely with each municipality to develop flexible solutions for women and children who are victims of violence. The framework and content of the flexible solutions will typically be defined on the basis of the woman's residence plan and optimally combined with the municipal action plan in cases where such a plan is available.

When a woman exposed to violence is admitted to Ellested Women's Crisis Center, the woman's home municipality will be contacted as soon as possible and no later than three days after admission (cf. Social Services Act § 109(4)) with information that the woman and any children have moved in.

Ellested Women's Crisis Center emphasizes close cooperation with other professionals in order to ensure a holistic solution for the woman and children. We will help with finding a new home, legal advice, financial advice, advice on physical and digital security, help with leisure activities, etc.

If the woman wants to move to a new municipality, we will help with job support, advice on health and new daycare facilities, and support in relation to cooperation with the social authorities. After the time at the shelter, a new everyday life begins - an everyday life where the responsibility for safety, school and daycare, leisure activities, relationships with the job center, health care and social authorities can seem unmanageable.

By offering the woman aftercare - a personal lifeline back to the shelter - the transition can be less chaotic and more manageable.

The woman can draw on support in terms of counselling and if she needs an assistant in important conversations. We emphasize receiving women and children in a warm, spacious and trustworthy atmosphere and in a welcoming physical setting.
Recognition is a key word, and we strive to have a respectful and non-blaming approach to the women and children who have found their way to us. We work to process the effects of violence.

We see women and children as experts in their own lives.

During their stay, we work to clarify and support the knowledge, resources and skills they already have. The aim is, among other things, to reduce feelings of guilt, shame and paralysis. Everyone needs to feel that they are cared for when they think they deserve it the least.

The most important part of the whole approach is that everyone around the woman and child, social worker, educators, volunteers, teachers and other relevant people, participate in the same common whole and talk together to unite around the core task.
By looking for and focusing on what works and doing more of it, appreciation and self-esteem are created as necessary prerequisites for all change, development, well-being and learning.