Norcare

In 2009 Paula (not her real name) came to one of Norcare’s supported housing projects with her young son. She had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her father for many years and had been referred to Norcare by Northumbria Police.

When she came to Norcare Paula was quiet and withdrawn. She felt a long way from her friends and family and felt she had no-one to talk to.

During her time with Norcare, she gradually began to open up, to trust the staff and grow in confidence. After a time Paula was able to ask for help from Norcare and let us support her through her darkest times since leaving her home.

As well as moral support Norcare was able to help her find another house in the area. We supported her through the whole process, helping her with applications, practicalities and even accessing grants to help with the costs of carpeting and putting up curtains.

During her time with Norcare Paula also enrolled on a specialist programme to help her cope with what she had been through. This course helped her see the methods her abuser had used and to realise that she was not to blame for the abuse but that it had been used to control her.

She also worked with our employability team, building a CV and starting to search for jobs.

Paula had already reported her father to the police and she knew that this would mean she would have to go to court and testify against her father. She would also have to consent to her son having a DNA test to prove that he was conceived by her father.

This was an extremely challenging time for her and she always said she could not have done any of this if she hadn’t had Norcare’s support.

Earlier this year Paula's father was convicted on charges of rape and given a long prison sentence.

Paula has now moved out of the Norcare property and into her own house. She continued to receive outreach support from Norcare until she felt able to cope on her own. She has secured specialist help for her son at his school and is currently applying to do voluntary work. She is keen to work with others who have also experienced domestic violence and help them to get their lives back again.