THERE'S no sign outside, but behind the doors of the pretty Victorian building on a busy Leeds street lie some of the city's most heart-breaking stories.
This is Emmeline, one of two refuges and 10 safe houses scattered across the city which offer a safe haven for women who have often suffered years of abuse, ranging from mental torture to brutal physical attacks and even repeated rape by their partne
rs.
Here they are supported by Leeds Women's Aid, offering a service which throws a lifeline to victims other refuges refuse to take, such as those with mental-health problems, those with substance-abuse problems, and self-harmers. It also welcomes older boy children and disabled women and children.
Rosie Robinson, director of LWA, said whatever their social class, lifestyle, ability or race, one in four women would suffer domestic violence. That rises to one in three for disabled women.
The £1m refuge, in the university district, is one of only 10 in the country fully accessible by wheelchair users.
It reopened two years ago after a transformation.
For the previous 23 years it had offered shared accommodation, with up to six families sharing one kitchen.
Rosie said: "We were failing women. They chose to go back to the violent relationship rather than stay.
"My personal mission was that no woman will return to the violence because she can't stand living in our refuge."
The building was drastically modernised and turned into 10 self-contained one, two, three and four-bedroom flats, with 44 beds.
Rosie said LWA aimed to provide hotel-standard accommodation, with flats regularly redecorated and damaged furniture replaced.
When youngsters arrive, usually with no possessions other than the clothes they were in when their mum decided to flee, they receive a box of brand-new playthings and are provided with newly-bought school uniforms, as they are likely to have to change schools.
The refuge has a brightly-coloured playroom and a back garden with playground equipment and an underwater mural – chosen by the children.
Older children designed their own £4,500 youth zone inside, paid for by the Big Lottery Fund, which has a plasma TV, mini snooker table, giant bean bags and laptops and is painted like a night sky.
Women usually stay around seven months, and benefit from on-site counselling and support with claiming benefits, finding a new home, a job and making a fresh start.
LWA also provides outreach support, telephone support and floating support.
And staff offer round-the-clock help so they can respond instantly if a resident feels suicidal.
This year the charity is celebrating 35 years of helping women in Leeds by organising events in November to highlight its work.
Its next project is to transform its other Leeds refuge, Angelou, into nine self-contained flats, with greater provision for single women.
Although last year the charity helped 799 women and 188 children, it can still only help one in every 10 victims referred to it.
Events in Leeds Shopping Week, which started on Thursday, are raising cash towards a much-needed holiday for residents.
