Next Chapter (formerly known as Colchester & Tendring Women's Refuge) is a domestic abuse charity working across the areas of Tendring, Colchester, Maldon, Chelmsford, Braintree & Uttlesford.  We provide free and confidential services to support people who are currently experiencing, or have previously experienced domestic abuse.

We are passionate about ensuring that every person has the opportunity to live their life free from domestic abuse

Our vision is for Life without Domestic Abuse with our mission to provide rapid responses to domestic abuse that increase safety for all victims, enabling them to rebuild their lives & create lasting change.  We believe in raising awareness through education, training & partnerships in our community.

We take the values of our organisation very seriously - it's the way we set our own expectations about how we work with our service users, partners & each other and how we hold ourselves to account.
All the time that domestic abuse exists, individuals will need us to help make safety possible. With our support they are empowered to reclaim their lives & choose the next chapter in the future they want. We are open, honest and fair in everything we do and everyone we work with. People trust us to do the right things for the right reasons. We value the diversity and uniqueness of all individuals and families. We listen & believe our service-users and strive to always walk with them on their journey with us. We strive to act at all times with courage; challenging injustices and enabling the voices of our survivors to be heard. Delivering the very best in all we do and holding ourselves accountable for the outcomes. We strive to find new ways to break the cycle of domestic abuse by supporting research, developing best practice and influencing decision-making at the highest possible level.