Lucy’s Spring 2026 Message

Spring has arrived, and with it the daffodils and blossom! I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last three months here at Alpha Vesta, where we have achieved a great deal and continue to make an impact across Essex and beyond.   Since January, we have attended various events including Basildon Council’s Women’s Safety Conference and South Essex Business Expo. We have also been privileged to present at a number of events including the Mid-Essex and Chelmsford Samaritans AGM and International Women’s Day event hosted by Essex PFCC.   I also recently presented at the National Fire Chiefs Council Safeguarding Conference – highlighting our partnership with Essex County Fire & Rescue Service where we are embedding the J9 Initiative. This will see the development of an e-learning module and train the trainer model to ensure lasting impact for our Fire & Rescue Service across Essex.

At the end of 2025, we were delighted to receive the news that we had secured three years of funding from the National Lottery, which complements our ongoing work funded by the Essex Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) which prioritises awareness, prevention and early intervention around domestic abuse.

These funds support our key projects across the county:-

Funded by Essex OPFCC, the J9 Initiative raises awareness of domestic abuse and empowers communities to support victims at the earliest opportunity.  This is achieved through

• Accessible monthly public online sessions that anyone can attend
• The opportunity to create J9 Accredited Safe Spaces within our communities

Since April 2024, nearly 5000 individuals have attended our funded 1-hour awareness session and we now have over 50 Accredited Safe Spaces across Essex, including schools, councils, GP surgeries, and customer-facing businesses.

Our J9 Plus offering is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund which provides an extended session with content exploring;

• Children and young people response
• Healthcare setting response

This has enabled us to deliver termly sessions for Headteachers and Safeguarding Leads across Essex, plus individual school and children services organisations.  As well as sessions for GP surgeries and ICBs.

EmployerED is our portfolio of workplace support for employers, helping staff recognise and respond to domestic abuse safely and effectively funded by Essex OPFCC and National Lottery Community Fund.

Recent work includes:

• Policy reviews and development
• Bespoke sessions including workplace wellbeing and vicarious trauma
• Training for housing professionals
• Training for healthcare professionals including mental health workers on complex behaviours and controlling tactics

We have listened to your feedback and introduced our new 1-hour EmployerED Lunch & Learn session open to individuals and organisations looking to understand a little bit more the impact of domestic abuse has on the workplace and employment.  This provides a taster of the more enhanced training or consultancy services we can offer to businesses and organisations across Essex as part of our funding or on a fee-based offering for those beyond.

Funded by the National Lottery until 2028, this programme provides tailored support for survivors of domestic abuse. There are three ways in which clients can engage:

• Independent learning through ‘Breaking the Cycle’ modules
• Peer support sessions focused on sections of the modules as well as wellbeing, life and employment skills.
• 1:1 Advocacy support navigating agencies, services, and employment

Programme Eligibility:

• Clients will need to be currently living in Essex.
• Client will need to be referred through an existing agency, service, employer or job centre. This referral pathway ensures appropriate safeguarding measures are in place and that clients have access to ongoing support alongside the programme if necessary.
• Clients should now be safe and ready to engage in recovery-focused learning.
• Clients will need to be able to access the programme from a safe and secure location using their phone or another suitable device.

In addition to our funded public training provision within Essex, we continue to deliver bespoke, fee-based training and consultancy services to organisations across the UK. We pride ourselves on confidentiality and discretion when working with clients in this space and bring extensive experience of working with:

• Statutory agencies
• Public sector services
• Local authorities
• National and regional private employers
• Charities and third sector organisations
• Community networks and partnerships

We recognise that a “one size fits all” approach is ineffective when addressing Domestic Abuse within the workplace. The size, structure, sector, and risk profile of your organisation will determine the level of intervention, policy development and cultural change required. Our bespoke packages are therefore fully tailored to your operational environment, workforce demographics and strategic priorities.  Please do get in touch if you are interested to explore this further.