Safety and immediate support
Confidential help when someone is in danger, under acute pressure or needs practical support to understand their options.
Registered charity · Established 1978
Nearly 50 years of showing up for women in Derby
Derby Women's Centre has operated since 1978, through changing funding landscapes, changing needs and generations of women who have walked through our door at Leopold Street. The founding idea remains simple: women deserve somewhere safe to land, whatever they are going through.
Our story
From a small community response to a trusted home for women
Derby Women's Centre was established in 1978, at a time when there were very few places in the city where women could turn for confidential, judgement-free support.
What began as a community-led response to that gap grew into a fixed and trusted home on Leopold Street. The needs women bring through the door have changed over time, but the purpose has not: to listen, to support and to help women find a way forward.
Today, that means supporting women through crisis, recovery and change, while also working alongside specialist partners where their expertise can widen or strengthen the support available.
How we work
Support that starts with the woman in front of us
Women do not need to arrive knowing which service they need or how to explain everything perfectly. We help identify the right starting point and the next useful step.
Space to rebuild
Support that helps women regain stability, process what has happened and move at a pace that feels manageable.
Connection and moving forward
Groups, activities and community opportunities that help women reconnect with themselves, with others and with what comes next.
Our values
What women should be able to expect from us
To be heard
We listen before assuming what somebody needs.
To be treated with dignity
Support is offered without judgement, shame or pressure.
To have choice
Women should understand their options and remain involved in decisions about their support.
To belong
Recovery is not only about getting through a crisis. Community, connection and participation matter too.
Our people
A centre built around relationships
Derby Women's Centre brings together staff, volunteers, facilitators and specialist partners around a shared commitment to accessible, respectful support for women in Derby.
Delivery partners
Specialist support, clearly identified
Some programmes are delivered alongside specialist organisations. We make that clear so women know who is providing each service and why that partnership adds value.
Current delivery partner
Spark & Spectrum CIC
Providing neurodiversity-affirming support and community programmes for neurodivergent people, SEND families and the wider community. Programmes delivered through the partnership will be clearly labelled on the website and programme listings.
Visit Spark & SpectrumLooking ahead
Established history. Evolving support.
Nearly five decades of service does not mean standing still. Derby Women's Centre can continue to respond to emerging needs, strengthen specialist partnerships and create more routes into support while keeping the accessibility and trust that have sustained the Centre since 1978.