A new hub to support survivors of domestic abuse has opened in Barking.

Launched at the Barking Learning Centre last Wednesday (September 22), it aims to provide a safe space where people can get support, run activities and events for other survivors and raise awareness of domestic abuse.

A key recommendation of the borough’s Domestic Abuse Commission report, released in March, was to enable survivors to set up their own support group and create safe spaces.

From this, survivors' group We Rise was formed and has opened the hub.

Cllr Maureen Worby, cabinet member for social care and health integration at Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “When we talked to survivors as part of the Domestic Abuse Commission, one of the points most frequently made was the huge benefit they experienced just from meeting other survivors and being introduced to community spaces which felt safe, welcoming and empowering."