WOMEN’ S SERVICES
SAFE HAVEN
SolStock / iStock
T he landscape of addiction and recovery services is increasingly recognising the need to address so much more than substance use alone. Nowhere is this more acute than at the intersection of domestic abuse and substance use.
For countless women, substances are not a recreational choice but a desperate, self-medicating strategy to manage overwhelming multiple traumas. Traditional, siloed services – where a survivor is told to achieve sobriety before receiving trauma counselling, or vice versa – have historically failed this complex cohort. This structural divide leads to cycles of relapse, homelessness, and re-victimisation.
An Essex service is offering integrated and genuinely trauma-informed recovery from both domestic abuse and substance issues, says Sally Harrington
In Essex, a pioneering residential service is closing that gap and leading the way for integrated care. The Nest, a collaborative project by the county-commissioned domestic abuse support service Next Chapter and leading substance use support provider Open Road, has established itself as a secure, trauma-informed haven. It provides the critical time, space, and specialist skills needed for women to address both their safety and their substance dependency simultaneously, fundamentally aligning with DHSC’ s commitment to integrated service delivery.
UNIQUE MODEL The foundational philosophy of The Nest is built on the principle that recovery cannot begin until physical and psychological safety are established, and that trauma must be addressed alongside substance dependency. This mandates a departure from traditional community-based programmes, which often cannot provide the necessary level of isolation from risk.
The service is explicitly tailored for women who have fled severe domestic abuse and require both secure, safe accommodation away from their risk area and expert support to manage trauma-induced substance use. The residential nature of The Nest provides an essential buffer, allowing the resident to begin processing their trauma without the constant vigilance and threat associated with remaining in their home environment or being street homeless.
The model is defined by several critical, interlocking features that create a holistic pathway:
Secure, residential safety Providing immediate, 24 / 7 safe supported accommodation. This allows residents to de-escalate their crisis response, stabilise, and begin processing trauma in a consistent, controlled, and protected environment. This is vital, as the acute stress of fleeing domestic abuse often exacerbates substance misuse behaviours.
Trauma-informed integration Next Chapter provides the foundational trauma-specific care and safety planning, while Open Road delivers in-house, evidence-based addiction recovery support alongside Essex STaRS prescribing service. This eliminates the fragmentation, delays, and re-traumatisation often
16 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • MARCH 2026 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM