Cheina fled from her violent husband when he beat her while she was pregnant with her son. Terrified for her children's safety, she first contacted Alert - Waltham Forest's anti-harassment and discrimination bureau - which put her in touch with Refuge and she's now in one of its London safe houses.
When she arrived, her 18-month-old daughter was jumpy and scared but Cheina says counselling from Refuge's child psychologist helped give them both confidence. Since then, she's given birth to her son. "When I was giving birth my family was far away," she explains, "but I had a lot of help from the staff here who looked after my daughter. She's fine now and uses the free play centre, which gives me time to look after my son."
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