Availability

Referral required

Yes

Referral Details

Self and professional referrals can be made using our website. Self-referrals can also be made in our weekly Cafe, but please contact Alana House in advance. Alternatively, if you would like to make a referral over the phone or have any questions please contact us on 01189 217640 or email alana.house@pactcharity.org. 

Other notes

Alana House is PACT's flagship community project that uses a holistic approach to support and empower women. We offer a confidential, women-only, non-judgemental space and welcome all self-identifying women who feel they need help and support.

Alana House Reading opened in April 2010, adopting the recommendations from the Corston Report, which identified nine pathways of support and the trauma-informed approach needed to support women. These pathways include:

• Accommodation
• Employment, Training & Education
• Mental and Physical Health
• Finances, Debt & Benefits
• Children & Families
• Drug & Alcohol Use
• Attitudes, Thinking & Behaviour
• Experience with DV, Abuse and Rape
• Sex Working/Exploitation

Initially established to support women who had committed offences but were often victims of trauma themselves, Alana House has developed over the years to support women with multiple or complex needs who are looking for support to help make positive life changes. 

Support Workers help women to identify their needs and work in partnership through keywork to achieve their goals. Alana House often supports women to engage with statutory services, where they would otherwise struggle.

The Alana House group programme changes quarterly, and includes courses such as Domestic Abuse Recovery Toolkit, Power 2 Change and Healing Trauma, as well as groups such as Baking, Job Skills, Moving Onto Independant Living and more.  Alana House utilises a multiagency approach, liaising with other agencies often to facilitate support at their premises on South Street, so women can access services in a safe environment. 

Alana House also runs BB4K programmes (www.pactcharity.org/community-projects/bounce-back-4-kids). Bounce Back 4 Kids (BB4K) is a support programme developed by PACT that uses therapeutic techniques to support children who have been victims or witnesses of domestic abuse. The programme works with the children and their parents to come to terms with experiencing family breakdowns. The programme consists of children’s support groups run concurrently with parent support groups.

The BB4K programme has a number of key aims:

• To help break the cycle of domestic abuse
• To raise children’s self-esteem and to give them an opportunity to explore and express their feelings through fun, child-focussed activities, in a safe therapeutic way
• To improve children’s school attendance and learning and development