East London

Phone

0808 168 9291

If you’ve been affected by crime, call The London Victim and Witness Service (LVWS). Lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

Supportline

08 08 16 89 111

If you need support outside of your local team’s opening hours, you can call our Supportline for free. Or find other ways to get help.  

Get help from your local team

Call us

If you’ve been affected by crime in East London, call the London Victim and Witness Service (LVWS) on 0808 168 9291. Lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

If you need telephone support outside of your local team’s opening hours, you can call our Supportline, for free, on 08 08 16 89 111. Supportline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Go online

Visit the London Victim and Witness Service (LVWS) website.

Our free live chat support service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can also request support via the website. A member of the team will get back to you to see how we can help.

My Support Space is a free online resource containing interactive guides aimed at helping you to manage the impact crime has had on you. It’s easy to set up an account and it allows you to work through the guides at your own pace.

How we can help

LVWS is a support service for London residents who are affected by or witness to crime. LVWS is commissioned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC).

We give free, confidential help to people who have been affected by crime in East London. This includes:

  • Barking
  • Dagenham
  • Havering
  • Newham
  • Redbridge
  • Tower Hamlets
  • Waltham Forest

We’re an independent charity and you can contact us for support regardless of whether you’ve contacted the police, and no matter how long ago the crime took place. We’ll help you for as long as it takes to overcome the impact of crime. We’re an independent charity and you can contact us for support regardless of whether you’ve contacted the police, and no matter how long ago the crime took place. You can also contact us for support regardless of your immigration status in England and Wales.

If you call LVWS, we’ll provide support that’s personalised to you. We’ll listen with compassion and help you find ways to manage and feel safer. We can also inform you of your rights and the services that you may be entitled to. If you’d like us to, we can refer you to other specialist organisations that can also help.

As well as offering support to people affected by crime, we run a number of specialist services in East London. These include:

Barking and Dagenham Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocacy Service

This service provides:

  • short-term support for all victims of domestic violence
  • practical advice, information and support
  • legal advice on applying for injunctions
  • information on police procedures
  • advice on your legal rights to your home
  • help to find somewhere else to live if you want to leave
  • help to increase the security of your home through the Sanctuary Project (including lock changes and security measures such as door/window alarms and secure letter boxes)
  • referrals to relevant specialists and counselling.

Barking and Dagenham Safer Homes project

This project offers free home security measures (eg door/window alarms and security chains) to anyone within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been a victim of crime or not.

IRIS project (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety)

IRIS is a domestic violence and abuse (DVA) project in Tower Hamlets. We work with GP surgeries, educating and training health professionals and staff about DVA. We encourage them to ask patients about their experience of abuse and refer to our specialist advocates if needed.

Waltham Forest Antisocial Behaviour (ASB)/Hate Crime project

This project offers advocacy and support to victims of ASB and hate crime in Waltham Forest.

Tower Hamlets Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) Project

Offering advocacy and support to victims of ASB in Tower Hamlets.

IRIS project (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety)

This service offers support to high-risk victims of serious violent/hate crime.

IRIS project (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety)

Our independent domestic violence advocates (IDVAs) offer one-to-one support and advocacy to high-risk victims of domestic violence.

Havering Domestic Violence project

Our IDVA one-to-one support and advocacy to high-risk victims of domestic violence.

Havering Domestic Abuse Project for Early Help Service and Troubled Families

This project offers specialist domestic violence support to victims who are working with the local authority Early Help and Troubled Families service. It also offers support and guidance on domestic abuse to staff within this service and partner agencies.

One of the people we’ve helped to cope after crime is Cara (not her real name), a victim of domestic violence.

“I experienced domestic violence which affected my whole life, including my family and friends. It wasn’t easy, but I knew there was hope of me fighting this and I am finally much stronger.

“Victim Support helped me overcome my fears. My caseworker stuck by me no matter what the situation and made me very comfortable communicating with her about all my experiences.

“In such a short amount of time, my caseworker helped me become a stronger individual and made me realise that it’s never too late to change and make things better.

“Without my caseworker I wouldn’t have been able to overcome everything and become this strong female.

“I feel very healthy and much stronger and I am not afraid about talking about my experience.”

We work with a number of partner organisations across East London to make sure you get the support you need. Find out more about some of the services and organisations we work with.

Please note, Victim Support is not responsible for the content of third party websites.