Early Intervention Team (EIT)
Providing specialist support at the earliest opportunity
Coventry Haven Women’s Aid’s Early Intervention Team (EIT) provides free, confidential and independent support to individuals who have been subjected to domestic abuse.
Working in partnership with Coventry Police, the team aims to ensure that individuals identified following a domestic abuse incident are offered independent timely access to specialist advice, practical assistance and appropriate safeguarding support.
Early intervention is an important part of preventing further harm, reducing risk and helping individuals make informed decisions about their safety and wellbeing.
About the Early Intervention Team
Our Early Intervention Team is based within Coventry Police Station, enabling specialist domestic abuse practitioners to identify and respond promptly to referrals following police involvement.
Although working closely with the police, the team operates independently as part of Coventry Haven Women’s Aid, a specialist domestic abuse organisation supporting people across Coventry since 1972.
The team aims to make contact with individuals as soon as possible following a referral, often on the same or next working day, recognising the importance of offering support at the earliest opportunity.
Our approach is person-centred, trauma-informed and responsive to individual circumstances, ensuring that those referred are treated with dignity, respect and understanding.
How we can help
Our experienced specialist practitioners provide a range of support to all victim-survivors, including:
Risk assessment and safety planning – Identifying potential risks and developing practical measures to improve personal safety, including the safety of children and other family members.
Emotional support – Providing a confidential, non-judgemental environment in which individuals can discuss their circumstances and concerns.
Information and advice – Helping individuals recognise different forms of domestic abuse, including coercive control, psychological abuse, financial abuse and other harmful behaviours.
Practical assistance – Providing guidance on available options relating to personal safety, housing, legal protection and access to other support services.
Specialist referrals – Facilitating access to Coventry Haven Women’s Aid’s and Panahghar’s wider services and other relevant agencies where additional or longer term support is required.
Ongoing safeguarding – Working with appropriate partner agencies, where necessary, to support coordinated responses to risk and ensure that safeguarding concerns are addressed.
Support is tailored to individual needs and circumstances, with an emphasis on informed choice, safety and empowerment.
Who does the team support?
The Early Intervention Team supports individuals referred following domestic abuse incidents reported to Coventry Police, including those who may not previously have accessed specialist services.
We recognise that domestic abuse can occur in different relationships and circumstances, and that barriers to seeking help can vary considerably.
Abuse is not limited to physical violence. It may include coercive and controlling behaviour, emotional and psychological abuse, sexual abuse, economic abuse, threats, intimidation and abuse perpetrated by family members.
Our practitioners understand the complexities involved in domestic abuse and the reasons individuals may feel unable or unwilling to seek support.
What happens following a referral?
Following a referral, a specialist practitioner will seek to establish safe contact with the individual concerned.
The initial conversation provides an opportunity to discuss immediate safety, identify any concerns and explain the specialist support available.
Where appropriate, the practitioner may offer safety planning, practical guidance or referrals to other services.
Individuals are supported to make their own informed decisions, and engagement with the service is voluntary.
Our team recognises that every situation is different and that support must reflect each individual's circumstances, needs and wishes.
Working together to improve safety
The Early Intervention Team forms an important part of Coventry's coordinated response to domestic abuse.
Through its close working relationship with Coventry Police and wider safeguarding partners, the team helps bridge the gap between an initial police response and access to specialist domestic abuse services.
By providing timely, independent support, the team aims to reduce the risk of further harm, improve access to safeguarding measures and ensure that individuals who may otherwise remain unsupported are offered appropriate assistance.
Contact Coventry Haven Women’s Aid
If you are concerned about domestic abuse, whether for yourself or someone else, you do not need to wait for a police referral to contact Coventry Haven Women’s Aid.
Our specialist services can provide confidential information, advice and support.
Coventry Haven Women’s Aid Helpline
0800 111 4998
02476 444077
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999.
The Early Intervention Team is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund.