Projects

CoLab Women creates safe, empowering spaces for women facing multiple disadvantages. We work alongside women with lived experience of trauma, criminal justice, domestic abuse, poor mental health and systemic inequality, helping them rebuild confidence, regain autonomy, and lead change. Our approach is gender- and trauma-informed, and rooted in respect, relationships and resilience. Whether through peer leadership, creative programmes or strategic advocacy, we centre women’s voices – and we make sure they’re heard.

Championing change with – and for – women

Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance (DDAA)

The DDAA (Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance) is dedicated to eradicating domestic abuse through collaborative efforts and community engagement.

Our mission is to provide a safe haven for those affected, offering resources and support to rebuild lives. We envision a future where domestic abuse is no longer a hidden issue but a community priority, tackled with compassion and determination.

By fostering partnerships and promoting awareness, we aim to create lasting change and a safer Devon for all residents.

www.ddaa.org.uk

Brave Spaces

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As part of the DDAA, Brave Spaces supports women experiencing Domestic Abuse in Devon who are:

Vulnerably housed, homeless, or living in Supported Accommodation (SA) or Temporary Accommodation (TA)
Struggling to access mainstream support services due to multiple disadvantages

Our team of IDVA’s and Project Workers offer tailored practical and emotional support to help women recover from Domestic Abuse, Sexual Violence, and Trauma.

We also assist women with practical issues such as housing, benefits and finances, toiletries and essentials, education and employment, and accessing healthcare.

Group Activities

We facilitate various group activities including our bespoke Domestic Abuse peer support group. Attendees do not need to be working 1:1 with a Project Worker to join these sessions, but we require notification if you are planning to recommend the sessions to a client.

We also run various Peer Support Spaces and Art Focused Activities throughout the year. The aim of all sessions is for women to come together and connect. Sessions are planned based on feedback from Women we support. The sessions run throughout the year, often in conjunction with other local services in the community.

Please contact us for further information.

Specialist Domestic Abuse Support

Our specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA) provide 1:1 support to women affected by medium and/or high-risk Domestic Abuse, focusing on risk reduction, safety planning, and rebuilding confidence.

Out of the Shadows & Sexual Violence

We provide confidential support and advice for anyone working with women at risk of being sexually exploited or involved in sex work.

Professional Support

Our Team is happy to help you with any questions or concerns about supporting women through Domestic Abuse.

We also provide tailored Domestic Abuse Training for services working with women experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Please get in contact if you would like further information.

Trauma Stabilisation

Support for people who have been impacted by trauma to understand and manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. If you would like more information, please speak to a member of the team.

Resilience Rising

Through Resilience Rising, we provide financial assistance to women with experience of the justice system, poverty, homelessness, mental health, isolation and domestic and sexual violence and abuse.

The funding that we have received as an agency partner of the Smallwood Trust strives to relieve poverty and we center on uplifting women to achieve stability and security in personal finances, housing, employment, and heath and wellbeing.

We provide small grants in order to support women through hardships, for example unemployment, relationship breakdown, or mental or physical health problems. Women do not need to be working with a Brave Spaces Project Worker to access the project, but a referral from a professional is needed.

Some examples of the grants that we give:

Payments for college courses to open new employment pathways
Furniture and appliances when moving into a new house
Emergency accommodation
Baby/child essentials

A Women’s Centre for Exeter

The Liberty Centre is built on the ideas of shared communities - where every woman’s presence, participation, and energy contribute to the collective strength of the space. It’s a place where women not only come together to relax and recharge but also to support one another in meaningful ways. The heart of the centre is a communal area—our "front room"—where warmth, creativity, and connection thrive. It’s an inviting environment where conversations flow, acts of kindness are exchanged, and friendships blossom.

This central space fuels the entire centre, inspiring a ripple effect that allow the journeys within other rooms to flourish. These rooms, each with their own story and purpose - are influenced by collaboration and mutual support. They provide opportunities for women escaping abuse, isolated women to build new skills and create new friendship, and accessible pathways to security and empowerment.

A woman with curly red hair smiling, wearing rings and earrings, in a setting with warm lighting.

Jeanie Lynch

Head of Service for CoLab Women

Jeanie has been a manager for over 30 years in a range of settings including health, children’s services, equality and diversity and workforce development, always with a focus on supporting people experiencing disadvantage towards recovery and gaining resilience for their futures. In 2024, Jeanie won the Police & Crime Commissioner’s award at the West Country Women’s Awards for her outstanding work in combatting violence against women and girls and is leading work towards opening a Women’s Centre for Exeter in the very near future.