Meet the Team

Hi I am Mandy and I am the CEO at Peterborough Women’s Aid. I have spent my entire career working in the domestic abuse sector. I began working with perpetrators of domestic abuse facilitating rehabilitative programmes in prison and in the community for the Probation Service.

I stayed at the Probation Service for 14 years in a variety of roles, all working towards ending violence against women and girls. In 2017 I moved into the charity sector and I am delighted to now be the CEO at PWA. My role includes overseeing all our services, establishing and maintaining partnership work, applying for new funding streams and much much more!

Why do I work for PWA? Every day I see the impact violence against women and girls has on families. We work with women who have been in fear of their lives daily. No one should have to live like that. I am passionate about providing families with a safe environment to recover. I am committed to working towards a society where violence against women and girls is not tolerated, where women are equal and live without fear.

I’m a specialist children’s worker and I began my career working with children as soon as I left school, with this I obtained a level 3 diploma working with children and young people. After working with young children for 5 years I decided I wanted a change to work with a wider aged range of children and I have always had a passion for helping people.

I developed my skills by becoming trained in children and young people’s mental health and widening my understanding of children with additional needs. My role involves providing a safe and calm environment for children to express themselves through play. I am passionate about supporting children in rebuilding positive relationships with their families and in the community free from domestic abuse.

I love working with PWA because, I enjoy seeing families at the end of their journey with us who can live their lives free from domestic abuse. I am passionate about giving children opportunities to be children, express themselves through play and demonstrate to them a safe environment.

Go to our Children’s Services page.

I have a background in Education, working with children and young people with SEN. I have worked extensively with those with social, emotional and mental health difficulties and adopt a trauma informed approach to help them understand and manage their emotions and behaviour.

During this time I found that childhood trauma, particularly domestic abuse, can have a detrimental and long-term impact on children and young people and I chose to move to the sector to enable me to continue to work with children experiencing trauma and to help them to understand and manage their emotions, feel safe and to develop better emotional stability. Seeing the change in confidence, self-esteem and stability of the children from when they first engage with our service to when they move on encourages me to strive to continue to educate and stop violence against women and children.

Go to our Children’s Services page.

Hi my role is to ensure that the house is safe for the families to live in. I conduct health and safety checks and make sure the rooms are ready to welcome new residents. I respond to requests from families and make sure they have all they need during their stay at the refuge

Hi – My name is Jo, I have over 35 years’ experience in Business Administration, mainly within the Private Healthcare Sector, it has never been just about shuffling papers!

Paying the bills is important, People however are more important! I assist the team with the day to day admin and often take the initial calls made to the advice line from women who are reaching out for help, every day I am amazed at the courage of these women, and endeavour to encourage and support them at the beginning of their journey to set themselves free.

Labas, esu lietuviškai kalbanti darbuotoja, kuri gali patarti ir padėti Peterborough miesto gyventojoms, patiriančioms šeimyninį smurtą ir (arba) seksualinę prievartą. Esu Lietuvos pilietė, tačiau daug metų gyvenu Jungtinėje Karalystėje. Suprantu, kad daugeliui Peterborough mieste gyvenančių lietuvių, anglų kalba, kaip antroji kalba gali būti viena iš pagrindinių kliūčių gauti ir suprasti informaciją bei reikiamą pagalbą. Dauguma merginų ir moterų kenčia nuo smurto artimoje aplinkoje, kuris daro didelį neigiamą poveikį jų bendrai gerovei ir trukdo joms visapusiškai dalyvauti kasdieniame gyvenime ir visuomenėje. Labai norėčiau, kad smurto artimoje aplinkoje neliktų ir tolerancija jam sumažėtų. Todėl noriu padėti smurtą artimoje aplinkoje patyrusioms lietuvėms vėl pasijusti nepriklausomoms ir pačioms priimti sprendimus, nesijaudinant dėl ​​kalbos barjero. Suprantu, kad smurtiniouse santykiuose atsidūrusiam žmogui nėra paprasta išeiti iš susidūrusios situacijos, todėl palaikymas ir pagalba yra labai svarbi. Dažnai moterys, norinčios nutraukti smurtinius santykius, susiduria su įvairiomis kliūtimis – nerimauja dėl savo ar vaikų saugumo, bijo prarasti teisę juos auginti ar nesijaučia financiškai pajėgios pasirūpinti šeima. Tačiau išeitis visada yra. Prašau kreipkities, suteiksiu nemokamą, emocinę ir praktinę pagalbą, patarsiu įvairiais klausimais ir atvyksiu į susitikimus, jums saugioje aplinkoje.

Hello, I am a Lithuanian Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence Community Engagement worker. I am a Lithuanian national who has lived in the UK for many years.

I understand that for many Peterborough Lithuanians, English being as a second language can be one of the main barriers accessing and understanding information and getting required support. Many girls and women are affected by domestic violence which has a huge negative impact on their general well-being and prevents them from fully participating in their daily lives and in society. Domestic abuse against women also impacts their families and loved ones.

I think that women should be empowered and entitled to a good quality of life and should be able to live free from violence. Therefore, I want to help Lithuanian domestic abuse survivors to feel independent again and make their own decisions about their own life, without being worried about having to overcome the language barrier. My role includes providing direct emotional and practical support, advice and advocacy, this includes telephone support and/or safe face to face meetings within the community.

Go to our Lithuanian Services page.

Hi, I am the Senior Refuge Worker at Peterborough Women’s Aid. I have been employed by them for the last 20 years.

During my time at PWA I have supported Women and children who have fled abusive relationships – sadly too many to count. My role includes safety planning and risk assessing for families to come to the refuge. Providing emotional and practical support, including helping them to gain access to benefits and empowering them to move to a safe home of their own when they are ready. Guiding and helping them through the family courts if applicable. Most of all working with a trauma informed approach to help them to heal and to feel safe.

I am passionate about the work done by Peterborough Women’s Aid. I have seen first hand the amazing progress and growth our women make during their time in the refuge. I feel privileged to be part of their journey to freedom.

Freedom from violence is our right and I want to continue to work to help survivors live in a world free from abuse.