DAHA Homelessness and Supported Accommodation Accreditation

The aim of the DAHA accreditation for homelessness and supported accommodation settings is to support organisations to implement and embed an effective domestic abuse response, that keeps survivors safe and holds perpetrators to account.

The standards in the framework have been developed collaboratively between DAHA and a group of homelessness organisations who are ‘piloting’ this accreditation, and take into consideration the unique environment of a homelessness or supported housing setting, to ensure the standards are achievable and beneficial to those experiencing domestic abuse within these services.

The accreditation framework focuses on 3 areas that consider the internal foundation and structure of a homelessness organisation, their co-ordination and partnership working, internally and with other agencies, and how they will directly respond to survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse.

 

THE PURPOSE OF THE FRAMEWORK

The purpose of the framework is to support organisations implement and embed a safe and effective domestic abuse response that holds perpetrators to account for the abuse.

Embedding standards of good practice in response to domestic abuse will mean that providers of services in homelessness settings will be applying a domestic abuse lens to their daily work enabling the early identification
of domestic abuse, providing a survivor-led response that, as part of a Coordinated Community Response (CCR), will prevent escalation of harm and hold perpetrators of abuse to account.

 

Intersectionality: We recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective for all survivors. Experiences of domestic abuse and access to safety will differ based on how they overlap and interlink with other systems of discrimination or disadvantage based on identities such as race, gender, sexuality, disability and more. Organisations must recognise how discrimination can present significant barriers for survivors to access support. For this reason, requirements regarding intersectionality are woven within the standards across all three of the framework areas.

 

DAHA Homelessness Accreditation and Membership Pack