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Restart was an innovative pilot project providing earlier intervention for families at risk of, or experiencing, domestic abuse. Restart was developed in response to the first lockdown restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the resulting impacts on adult and child victim-survivors. First launched as a ‘Domestic Abuse Early Intervention and Accommodation Trial’ across ten London boroughs from September 2020 to August 2021, the trial was then developed into Restart using learnings from a 12-month evaluation. Restart, a collaboration between the Drive Partnership, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), Cranstoun, Respect, and the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA), was delivered from 2021 to 2026 across six London sites. One of these sites was part of a feasibility study supported by Foundations, the national What Works Centre for Children & Families, within its REACH Plan -a five-year roadmap to find out what works to prevent domestic abuse and support child victim–survivors. Please find further information below on the Restart model, impact, and evaluation, alongside contact details for discussion on future development.
Restart was a partnership-led, multi-agency project with a systems change approach that provided earlier intervention for families at risk of, or experiencing, domestic abuse, alongside training and upskilling for professionals. The Restart model was comprised of three core components:
Restart delivered Safe & Together training alongside dedicated Respect-led implementation support for Children’s Social Care, Early Help and housing staff. Restart aimed to improve awareness, knowledge and understanding of domestic abuse across workforces alongside the provision of ongoing support for practitioners to identify and respond to patterns of harmful behaviour at an earlier stage, at both system and operational level.
Restart aimed to increase safety for families by providing short-term, one-to-one interventions with the person causing harm, and parallel, separate support for the non-abusive parent. It was designed to intervene earlier and worked to address denial, minimisation, and partner blame to better prepare people for longer-term structured behaviour change work.
Restart worked in partnership with Local Authorities to develop and improve housing pathways for those causing harm to enable adult and child victim-survivors to remain safe and together in their home. Temporary, alternative accommodation could also be offered to the person causing harm during the intervention to create safe spaces for both parties to engage with support.
The Restart journey graphic illustrates the journey of a hypothetical family, based on Restart case studies, towards two outcomes; one with the involvement of Restart, and the other without.
“I feel with Restart, it’s like you’re talking to another human being, not just a number…”
Victim-survivor
Evaluations published by RedQuadrant in 2022 and 2023 highlighted that Restart had a significant positive impact on victim-survivors, people using harmful behaviours, and how Children’s Social Care staff, strategic leads, and services responded to adult and child victim-survivors through accessing Safe & Together training and support.
Building on these findings, a further evaluation was published in 2025 by consultants Jo Sharpen and Ellie Hutchinson, who noted that “Restart offers hope, healing and transformation for the families impacted by domestic abuse that we were able to speak with and evidence”.
In parallel to this, a separate piece of work was commissioned and delivered by Dr Kelly Henderson, Dr Nicole Renehan, and Professor Sarah Wydall focused on key standards for developing a perpetrator housing pathway.
This report found that, “While the overall aim of Restart is to address abusive behaviours and prevent domestic abuse, the accommodation support offer provided was viewed as a crucial foundation pathway to addressing and supporting long-term behavioural change”.
“It should not be assumed that the perpetrator will be supported first with behaviour management and secondly with accommodation. In some instances, it may be more effective to support the perpetrator to address immediate housing needs, to be able to focus on behaviour management. As engagement with DA support programmes are a requirement for longer-term accommodation, this will provide an opportunity for support which we will monitor and evaluate”. (Case Study)
Additionally, a Feasibility Study was commissioned by Foundations, the national What Works Centre for Children & Families, and written and delivered by Cordis Bright which noted that Restart “addresses a critical gap in support for families affected by domestic abuse, providing timely, coordinated responses to low and medium risk perpetrators”.
For more background on Restart please visit our News and Publications page and filter by Restart-tagged articles. For other relevant resources please also see DAHA’s Guidance for Services Supporting Perpetrators, as well as practical guidance on Creating a Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Housing Pathway, developed by Dr Kelly Henderson, Professor Sarah Wydall and Dr Nicole Renehan.
If you are interested in discussing Restart and/or the development of a domestic abuse housing pathway in your area, please contact [email protected].