Our team

Sarah Carnell is SATEDA’s Head of Support Services. Sarah’s first role in supporting women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence was in 1996 when she volunteered as a telephone helpline worker with a rape crisis centre. Since then, Sarah has supported women in both community and refuge settings. She has also taught compulsory aged children, and at further education and higher education establishments.

Sarah is a qualified SafeLives Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, Independent Sexual Violence Advisor and a Domestic Abuse Service Manager. She has managed teams of teachers and domestic abuse support workers.

Gina is responsible for the line management and project management of SATEDA’s Communities Team, which encompasses our volunteer offer, group programme provision and counselling.

Our communities projects are an important element in our offer of support for survivors; by working in partnership with SATEDA’s other teams we are able to offer the best solution in their journey towards a life free of abuse.

Our adult support team is the first point of contact for women experiencing abuse who want to access support. Our team will listen, assess their needs and develop a support and safety plan with them. The support worker will then be able to refer them to other services provided by SATEDA, or signpost to outside agencies to meet their support needs.

Our youth support team offers 1:1 and family support, also delivering programmes to groups of children and young people. We offer the opportunity to develop self-knowledge and recognise strengths, working on managing emotions and building healthy relationships. There is also a focus on making positive changes in important areas of their lives.

Our Support 2 Court team helps women without legal representation to obtain protective civil orders through the family courts. They help with the paperwork, statement writing, and also support in court as a McKenzie Friend. Obtaining these orders gives the women we support peace of mind and a feeling of safety again, for themselves and their children.

At SATEDA we rely on the incredible dedication of volunteers who support us with their time and care, from facilitating group programmes and counselling to distributing leaflets and writing letters to women in prison. Valerie and Tracy make sure our volunteers are properly trained, supported and looked after.

Our programmes team delivers 12-14 week courses of the Freedom Programme, Own My Life, and Power 2 Change, to help women recover, regain ownership and rebuild after abuse. They guide discussions about the nature and impact of domestic abuse in a safe and friendly environment on a weekly basis.

IRIS is the first initiative of its kind in Kent and involves us providing specialist domestic abuse (DA) training for all staff at GP surgeries, focusing on the clear link between health and domestic abuse. Specialist support is then offered to any female patient at the surgery who may be experiencing domestic abuse. Our IRIS Advocate Educator is Ruth, who has worked in the domestic abuse sector for over 15 years.

Ruth also leads Support 2 Court.

Our staff team also includes a Fundraising Manager who is responsible for generating the funds to finance all SATEDA’s work. She seeks the support of charitable trusts and foundations, local businesses and individual donors – whose generosity we are enormously grateful for. Our Communications & Community Engagement Coordinator promotes SATEDA’s services and supports fundraising.

We employ an Admin Officer who provides general administrative support to the team and to the clients we work with, and a Finance Officer who looks after the charity’s finances and accounts.