Daffodil kids
The Daffodil Family Centre enables parenting capacity to be assessed whilst a child remains in the care of the parent
Transforming the lives of thousands of women and their children is Plymouth-based charity Trevi.
Formed 29 years ago, Trevi aims to provide a place where all women in recovery can access good quality interventions in a safe and nurturing space where they can heal, grow and thrive. From rehab and health to housing and employment, Trevi helps any woman in recovery move from ‘surviving’ to ‘thriving’.
When a woman has reached a tough crossroads or crisis, Trevi’s compassionate and expert team will provide the treatment and strength to help her break free, giving her a fresh start in life.
Trevi’s work is delivered across three main centres: Jasmine Mother’s Recovery Centre, to help mothers break addiction for good and to be the best mother she can be; Sunflower Women’s Centre, the only women’s centre in Plymouth, supports and empowers more than 500 local women, many with complex needs and experience of trauma and abuse; and the Daffodil Family Centre that enables parenting capacity to be assessed whilst the child remains in the care of the parent.
Trevi supports more than 550 women and children every year.
Despite a difficult couple of years due to the Covid pandemic, Trevi’s team has been working hard to make sure their lifesaving services are still run to protect women and their children.
One member of the team is chief executive Hannah Shead, who in 2021 was nominated for the Women in Social Enterprise award 2021.
Hannah was nominated by Bridges Outcomes Partnerships, who are kind funders of the Pause Project, based at Trevi, which works with women who have experienced or are at risk of repeat removals of children from their care.
Hannah said: ‘In what has been an incredibly challenging year, I am proud of the work Trevi has continued to achieve in supporting women affected by domestic violence and abuse and enabling them to remain with their children.’
Hannah has been CEO of Trevi since 2011 and has been in the social care field for 20 years, working in both the statutory and voluntary sectors. Since joining Trevi, she has established their Sunflower Women’s Centre and the Daffodil Family Assessment Centre.
‘Trevi is a special service,’ added Hannah. ‘The way we describe ourselves is that we are a leading South West Women’s Charity.
‘We amplify the voices of women and we work with women whose rights haven’t been met - we make sure that the voices of women and children are heard.
‘Following the Sarah Everard murder at the beginning of 2021 people have started to look at the violence towards women and they are worried and talking about the issue - suddenly it’s a mainstream concern where people are listening to the issues and have compassion.
‘At Trevi we adapt and respond, and we learn and develop from the people that we support.
‘There is a great sense of community in Plymouth and the donations we have received from people in Plymouth is amazing.’
Last year Trevi launched its first ‘Sheroes’ event which was embraced by so many people - and in 2022 the charity hopes the initiative will prove popular once again. This year, the theme for International Women’s Day (March 8) is #breakthebias and importantly it’s a time to celebrate women’s achievement. Trevi recognises that there are many female heroes – Sheroes. With Covid-19, many Sheroes have come to the fore over the past two years. Women who have been on the frontline of the NHS; mothers who have balanced homeschooling and working from home; volunteers, or women who have had the strength to go through therapy like Trevi’s Jasmine Mother’s Recovery.
Whoever they are, the charity wants to celebrate those special Sheroes as part of International Women’s Day.
The charity was born in 1993 from the desire of four drug and alcohol workers (including the late Roma French, mother of Dawn French) in Plymouth to create a unique environment for women and their children experiencing drug and alcohol misuse issues to grow and create positive futures.
As Roma was sat in a café in Rome dreaming up her vision for the service, she could hear the waters cascading at the nearby beautiful and picturesque Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city of Rome and one of the most famous fountains in the world. The fountain is at the junction of three roads and marks the terminal point of the Acqua Vergine that revived Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome for more than 400 years.
Inspired by this Fountain of Hope, the name Trevi House was born - rebranded to Trevi in October 2020.
For more information on Trevi or the Sheroes initiative, visit www.trevi.org.uk