What does the New Dawn New Day impact report show?
The New Dawn New Day impact report for 2024-2025 shows how our team supported women across Leicester and Leicestershire between April 2024 and March 2025. Over the year, 545 referrals were made to NDND, and women received specialist, trauma-informed support through our early intervention, community, intensive and domestic abuse services.
Most of the women we work with are in contact with the criminal justice system and are referred to us by the Police, the Probation Service and other partners. This post shares the headline figures from the report and what sits behind them. You can also download the full Impact Report (PDF, 7.4 MB).
How many women did NDND support in 2024-2025?
In 2024-2025, 545 referrals were made to NDND. Behind each referral is a woman with her own circumstances, goals and priorities, so the figures below are best read alongside the support each service offers.
How does early intervention support women?
The Women’s Out of Court Resolution Project offers support at the point of arrest, as an alternative to the wider court process. In Leicestershire, women can complete a Conditional Caution by accessing support at our women’s centre. This year, 241 women were referred and we provided 801 hours of support.
The intervention is designed to be short, but many women choose to stay involved afterwards through groups and peer support. Through the same project, we also support women referred under an Outcome 22 or Community Resolution after arrest for domestic violence related offences. For many of these women, the reality is that they have also experienced domestic abuse themselves.
What is the Just Women Project?
The Just Women Project supports women referred through the Probation Service as part of a community sentence. Practitioners from the Probation Service’s Women’s Specialist Team are based within our centre, so referrals are built on trust and shared understanding. In 2024-2025, 222 women were referred and we delivered 1,120 sessions through one-to-one and group support.
The project starts from the question “what happened to you?” rather than “what did you do?”. Each woman works with a Women’s Services Practitioner to shape a personal plan that reflects her own goals, not only the requirements of her order.
Who receives intensive support through Reach Out?
Reach Out supports women who are in crisis and at risk of disengaging from their court orders. Practitioners work flexibly, often meeting women at home or in other safe places in the community. This year, 78 women received intensive support, with an average of 54 hours of support for each woman.
The aim is not to fix everything at once. Instead, practitioners focus on removing barriers and meeting immediate needs, so that engaging with an order becomes possible.
How does the specialist IDVA service help?
Our Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) work with women who have experienced high levels of abuse and control. As well as safety planning, they help women navigate the justice system, access housing and connect with other services. In 2024-2025, 38 women received specialist IDVA support, and 30 women completed their support with us.
What did the Our Place project achieve?
Our Place ran from 2020 until this year. It offered a welcoming space for women completing community orders to build confidence, connect with others and find ongoing support. The project supported 489 women through one-to-one and peer groups, and 155 women helped deliver the project through volunteering.
What needs do women bring when they first come to NDND?
Our records from April 2024 to March 2025 show that most women arrive with more than one area of need. The most common were a significant need for emotional wellbeing support, experience of historic or current abuse, a risk of reoffending and a mental health concern.
Many women also needed support with relationships, substance use, accommodation or finances. This is why our support is holistic. Housing, safety, wellbeing and money worries are often connected, so we coordinate support around each woman rather than looking at one issue in isolation.
What difference does NDND’s support make?
Women working with us in 2024-2025 told us they felt more positive about their future, less likely to reoffend and more useful and valued. Our outcome monitoring also recorded positive changes in confidence, emotional wellbeing, loneliness and drug or alcohol use.
One woman described it simply: “You get treated differently, you’re not judged.” That sense of being listened to, without judgement, sits at the heart of how we work.
Are women’s centres good value for money?
Yes. According to research by the Women’s Budget Group, a place at a women’s centre costs between £1,223 and £4,125 a year, depending on a woman’s needs. By comparison, a place in prison costs £52,121 a year, before indirect costs such as children going into care or lost housing. The same research found that £2.84 is saved for every £1 spent on women’s centres.
Why does NDND work in a trauma-informed, women-only way?
Many of the women we support have experienced trauma, so our whole organisation is built around understanding and reducing its impact. Our centre is a women-only space, which helps women feel safe enough to talk openly, make their own decisions and connect with others who have had similar experiences.
We apply the same approach to our staff and volunteers. Reflective practice gives the team regular space to pause, learn and look after their own wellbeing, so they can keep offering consistent, compassionate support. You can read more about our services for women.
Who makes this work possible?
Our work is made possible by funders and partners who share our aims. The Ministry of Justice, working with the Probation Service, supports Reach Out and Just Women and provides core funding, and we work alongside Changing Lives as part of the Just Women Project.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire funds our Out of Court Resolution and IDVA services. Our Place was funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
What’s coming next for 2025-2026?
Looking ahead, we’re working with new funders. The Triangle Trust and the Charles Hayward Foundation are supporting our Out of Court Resolution work, including a focus on younger women under 25 and more intensive support for women with higher levels of need.
The Smallwood Trust is funding practical support for women affected by the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, the AB Charitable Trust is providing core, unrestricted funding for the team behind the scenes. Find out how you can support our work.
Read the full New Dawn New Day impact report
The full report includes more detail on each service, the needs women bring when they first come to us, and quotes from women and practitioners.
New Dawn New Day impact report FAQs
The 2024-2025 report covers April 2024 to March 2025. It shares figures from NDND’s early intervention, Just Women, Reach Out, IDVA and Our Place services, along with the needs women bring and the outcomes they reported.
545 referrals were made to NDND for support between April 2024 and March 2025. Most came through the Police, the Probation Service and other criminal justice partners.
NDND supports women in contact with the criminal justice system in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Referrals come from the Probation Service, the Police and Ingeus. We do not accept self-referrals.
You can download the full 2024-2025 Impact Report as a PDF from this page, or from the About Us page on the NDND website.
If you’d like to help women across Leicester and Leicestershire access consistent, compassionate support,
find out how you can get involved.