About Us
Vesta - Specialist Family Support CIC was formerly known as the Polish Domestic Violence Helpline (PDVH). PDVH has supported Polish victims of domestic violence since 2014. We set up the first UK-wide helpline specifically for Polish people who have experienced domestic abuse. It was founded by Ewa Wilcock, who developed it initially as a project within a local charity, Cheshire Without Abuse. National interest in the helpline grew quickly, and in 2015 we registered as a charitable incorporated organisation and developed our services independently. Apart from the helpline, we offered telephone counselling and a domestic abuse recovery programme for Polish women, Gateway. In 2017, we were one of the shortlisted finalists for the prestigious Diversity Award in the gender category, which was a great recognition of our work for Polish victims of domestic violence.
There was a growing demand for our services, and we decided to change how we operate to continue providing invaluable support to Polish families. In September 2018, we registered Vesta - Specialist Family Support CIC, our new name and organisation. We extended our support offer to respond to the growing needs of our clients. We supported families affected by domestic abuse through specialist courses for victims and perpetrators. We also focused on improving parenting skills and the general well-being of Polish families; we developed and offered parenting courses and counselling with Polish-speaking specialists.
We also designed and offered courses for British professionals that helped them explore the issues affecting the lives of Polish people living in the UK, so they could recognise them and respond confidently when supporting Polish clients in their professional roles.
We have been a leading organisation offering expert advice, resources and training on specific issues affecting the Polish community, raising awareness of the needs of our clients through courses, conferences, blogs, consultancy and reports.
In June 2025, we made a difficult decision to close our organisation.
Despite the organisation’s closure, we want to offer you access to our resources and some of our services:
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Our educational resources in Polish about domestic abuse, mental health and parenting for the Polish community will remain available free of charge on our website.
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Our specialists will continue to deliver the Gateway programme to Polish survivors of domestic abuse through Tools4Change CIC, the agency that created and developed Gateway. Contact ewa@tools4change.co.uk if you want to commission this service.
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If you would like to commission a programme for Polish perpetrators of domestic abuse, Towards Change, contact Halina Hewson at halinahewson@yahoo.com
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To commission the Working with Polish Families course for your team to maximise their effectiveness and cultural awareness of the Polish community in the UK, please contact Ewa Wilcock at polishinsightconsultancy@gmail.com. Ewa also offers domestic homicide review support and consultancy services.
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Parenting course, The Nurturing Programme, can be commissioned directly from Iwona Nowakowska - sentire.psychoterapia@gmail.com
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We will also publish a list of trusted Polish counsellors and solicitors who offer services in their private practices.