Addressing Domestic Abuse

02/06/2026

As Volunteers Week begins, our Managing Director Deborah Alderson reflects on her experience of volunteering and the impact it has had.

‘During my 30 years in policing I was a volunteer mentor with the wonderful ‘The Girls'​ Network’ and a volunteer ambassador with The Childrens Society, as well as volunteering with my local Rockliff Rugby Club as part of the coaching team and first aider.

In 2023 my daughter spent an extended period in hospital and it was here that I discovered the amazing MediCinema which like many, I didn’t previously know existed! This is an actual proper cinema inside the hospital, they screen all of the latest releases and it is available to all in-patients and their family and friends. I could see what a huge impact this had on people, a welcome distraction in often bleak situations. Medicinema rely on volunteers so I soon became a volunteer patient assistant at my local Medicinema at the RVI in Newcastle.

I have just taken on a new volunteer role as Safeguarding lead for Rockliffe Rugby Club which is exciting and I’m very much looking forward to!

People often ask where I find the time to volunteer. If you are passionate about something you find the time, you get so much out of it. If you are thinking about volunteering I’d say go for it…if you dont volunteer I’d say think about what you might enjoy and give it a go…whats the worst that can happen??’

ADA would also like to thank our volunteers;

Our fantastic advisory board members Michelle Meldrum, Mercy Denedo and Anneka Gill

Our non-executive directors Gavin Oxburgh and Winton Keenan KPM, and

Our social media manager the fabulous Tiana Brown

We couldn’t do it without you!

Dr Kelly Henderson CIHCM


Photograph shows ADA Managing Director Deborah Alderson working at the MediCinema with Grogu and The Mandalorian 🩷

31/05/2026

We are delighted to share our latest Spotlight report ‘You can’t bid because you’re in the red’ by Dr Mel Nowicki, Professor Katherine Bricknell and Stephanie Morphew.

The report is based on professional research and analyses the links between domestic abuse, debt and housing allocations policies, there is some excellent learning for housing providers here; this helps understand how victims and survivors can be supported to escape some of the impact of financial and economic abuse.

Read the full report here:

April 2026 Spotlight Report 18/05/202618/05/2026 by Addressing Domestic Abuse April 2026 Spotlight Report Categories General News KULPA: Digital Evidence Platform

28/05/2026

Day 2 for our directors Kelly Henderson and Deborah Alderson in Helsinki at presenting ‘Gambling related domestic abuse - women’s housing experiences’ in the Interpersonal Relationships and Recovery plenary.

Key takeaways from all speakers was the huge impact on women no matter who was responsible for the gambling. Stigma and shame a common theme, along with domestic abuse, mental health and economic abuse.

A free toolkit for housing providers is available at

https://addressingdomesticabuse.com/services/research-evaluation/

28/05/2026

Our directors Deborah Alderson and Kelly Henderson have just arrived in Helsinki ready to present research on domestic abuse and gambling related harms at the Current Advances in Gambling Research conference 2026…v excited!! 🤗

18/05/2026

We are really excited to announce 2 new ADA associates! It’s a great pleasure to introduce Darren Burton and Amy Stirton of The Social Housing Academy.

You can read more detail about their extensive knowledge, expertise and backgrounds on our website:

https://addressingdomesticabuse.com/team/associates/

18/05/2026

Our directors Deborah Alderson and Dr Kelly Henderson have spent time at believe housing today delivering staff training on domestic abuse and how housing staff can recognise and effectively respond to domestic abuse. Very useful discussions from a great group! A quick blast of dazzling sun and sea air afterwards overlooking Seaham beach!

Do get in touch if you are interested in our training.

08/05/2026

Our directors have been privileged to spend the last 3 days delivering training at Walsall Housing Group, great discussions with staff about how to effectively address domestic abuse, thank you to all participants and thank you for inviting us 👏

We deliver bespoke training to any organisation and cover addressing domestic abuse and trauma informed practice, check out our website for more information about this and our other services ⭐️

https://addressingdomesticabuse.com/

Deborah Alderson
Kelly Henderson

06/05/2026

A tragic and unnecessary death perpetrated by an ex partner, lives of children, other family members and neighbours put in danger all because a man felt the need to exert the ultimate control over someone who did not want to be with him.

This case highlights the real dangers post separation, it is the most dangerous time for survivors of domestic abuse and is when the most homicides occur. The only cause of domestic abuse is the perpetrator - focus should remain on them through multi-agency processes like the MATAC until they stop their harmful behaviours or until they are brought to justice.

And how about changing the headline BBC News to reflect what actually happened, ‘woman murdered by ex with explosive device after he forced entry to house’

Our thoughts are for Jo Shaw and her family and friends at this horrific and tragic time 💔

Jo Shaw and Ryan Kelly died in an explosion in Bristol on Sunday, with police treating Shaw's death as a homicide.

Read more: https://bbc.in/4d1xF8t

22/04/2026

It is a real pleasure and privilege to be invited to sunny Aberdeenshire to Osprey Housing Association to deliver our Domestic Abuse and Trauma Informed Practice training for housing professionals. We discussed:

⭐️ Understanding domestic abuse as a pattern of power and control
⭐️ Understanding how trauma impacts behaviour, engagement and decision making
⭐️ Identifying trauma responses commonly seen in housing settings
⭐️ Applying trauma informed principles in everyday housing practice
⭐️ Responding to domestic abuse and trauma safely and ethically

Thank you to the Osprey team for being such a fantastic group today, your approach and enthusiasm were a real pleasure to see and work with 🤗.

Trauma informed practice is not a specialist role or an extra task, it is organisational culture, it is how you interact and communicate and how you choose to use power…every action is an intervention, actions that are trauma informed prevent harm and retraumatisation.

We offer a bespoke version of this training to any organisation, tailored to your role and organisational and customer needs.

Please check out our website for more details and how to contact us to discuss further.

The second photo is our post training welfare walk (still sunny!)😎 Deborah Alderson Kelly Henderson

https://lnkd.in/eW2wVwiE

03/04/2026

👀New collaboration alert!

Yesterday we met up with Helen Hogan from Safeguarding Matters to discuss supporting each other’s work.

Helen is a qualified social worker and teacher delivering exceptional training and safeguarding support and advice to schools.

We are very excited about working with Helen on future projects 🤩

Deborah Alderson
Kelly Henderson