You may have seen our social media post recently that we have secured a building that will help us realise our ambition of opening a women’s and children’s empowerment centre.
We will be re-locating our Dalkeith centre (currently based on Eskbank Road) into our new support centre. This is an exciting and significant change that impacts both the staff and the women and children who rely on our services. Whilst moving can be a daunting process, it also offers us an opportunity for growth, improved services, and a refreshed environment that better meets the needs of everyone.
I thought it would be good to share a bit more about our plans and what to expect over the next few months…
A Fresh Start in a New Space
We will use our new space to design a centre that is a safe, trauma informed and welcoming environment for all who use the centre. The new premises give us the opportunity to offer a more modern, accessible, and supportive environment where women and children can feel secure and empowered.
Enhanced Facilities: The move to new premises provides us with larger and brighter rooms onsite for group sessions, private support spaces, and even outdoor spaces for relaxation, socialising and healing. The aim is to create a space that is not only functional but one that also contributes to the healing process.
Improved Accessibility has been a key consideration in the location and design of our new premises. We want to ensure that the building is pushchair and wheelchair accessible, we will be providing clear signage and easy navigation throughout our space, ultimately, the new location will offer improved access for all our staff and service users. We aren’t moving far from our current location, we are delighted to still have excellent transport links and so it will remain easy for women and families to reach our centre.
What does this mean for your support?
We plan to move during October but now our staff are still based at 29a Eskbank Road.
One of the main concerns is making sure we don’t interrupt the support we provide. Rest assured that we are committed to minimise any disruption to our work. This means we are carefully planning the move to ensure that support remains available throughout the transition period. We will keep you informed about any temporary changes to service delivery, and you will be given clear instructions on how to access support during the transition.
What to expect…
We will let you know in advance if you need to attend appointments or groups at a different address, we will give you an address and we will provide you with directions.
When you come to our Dalkeith office, please be aware that the environment is changing. It is not as cozy as you will be used to, and it will become more and more sparse each week. This is because we are busy packing up and getting our new home as comfortable as possible for when we re-locate.
Support During the Transition: To help ease the transition, if you need additional support and information to ensure that you are comfortable with the changes, please ask your key worker or get in touch with me directly. Our additional support can include things like giving more notice of what to expect, making sure that the things that you would normally expect are still available, arranging orientation sessions at the new Centre where you can familiarise yourself with the new environment before we open.
Your views matter
We have already received feedback through our stakeholder events about what you want to see in our new space, all your feedback has been taken into consideration as we create plans for our new space. We will keep that feedback loop open so please continue to give us your feedback – our whole drive for this space is to create a healing and empowering space for you, so we need to know what you need and want!
Final Thoughts…
This re-location marks a significant step forward in our ability to support women and families who have been subjected to domestic abuse. This has been a long-term ambition, and we are very excited to now be putting this into action. Even after we move it will take us a while to get it looking and feeling exactly as we vision.
While the transition may come with challenges, the benefits of a new, well-designed space that offers enhanced facilities and improved accessibility cannot be understated. As the centre settles into its new home, the focus remains firmly on providing a safe, supportive environment where women and children can find the help they need and deserve to rebuild their lives.
Please keep an eye out for updates on our re-location, and don’t hesitate to reach out to the staff if you have any concerns or questions about the move. Our goal is to make this transition as smooth and supportive as possible for everyone involved.
We cannot wait to invite you into the space and share this special space with you all.
Julie x
For further information please contact:
Julie Watson, CEO
Email: julie@womensaideml.org
www.womensaideml.org