Ascent Floating Support Service
Opening hours
The Ascent Pan London Floating Support Service is a strand of the Ascent project. Ascent has been funded by London Councils since 2013 and is a project of the London Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Consortium.
The Ascent Pan London Floating Support Service provides high-quality domestic abuse support, ‘by-and-for’ services and counselling. It is a partnership of eleven specialist domestic abuse organisations across London, delivering trauma-informed, wrap-around, client-led support for those in safe accommodation, across London. Refuge lead the partnership, and Solace forms part of the Floating Support service across North and East London boroughs, to women who are in safe accommodation.
To access this service, the victim/survivor must be living in safe accommodation, except refuge (as defined by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021).
Floating support offered to service users might include:
- Specialist support and safety planning, to reduce risks and harm for survivors and their children
- Ongoing casework support, including referrals to specialist advice and practical support, such as legal advice around civil and criminal remedies
- Empowering survivors with information on their rights and options, demystifying complex statutory systems and dispelling myths perpetuated by perpetrators and wider society
- Support to maintain accommodation, or to source permanent accommodation as necessary
- Financial empowerment work to maximise income, including support with debt
- Referral to therapeutic support from Woman’s Trust
- Support to link with local resources such as ESOL classes, volunteering and training to develop financial independence, and opportunities to gain social support, such as mother-and-baby groups, or formal DA programmes (delivered by partners)
The overall aim of the service is to increase survivor safety over time; to reduce and remove harm for victim/survivors; and to reduce incidents of domestic abuse for a group of survivors who might find it hard to access support by other means.
How to refer
The referral line will provide:
- An initial risk assessment
- Immediate crisis management and safety planning
- Referral to either a specialist by-and-for service, or a general needs VAWG service, depending on the survivor’s preference
Additional information
Service audience
Women
Service available in these London boroughs
Available across all London boroughs