A Kent charity has secured £4.1 million from a socially-motivated investor to buy 22 properties and transform them into refuges from domestic violence.

Oasis, a charity supporting domestic abuse victims, will use the money to buy homes across Thanet and Medway to house victims safely away from their abusers.

The charity has already purchased nine of the 12 properties it intends to in Thanet and is currently on the hunt for 10 more in the Medway Towns.

The houses will vary in square footage to allow the organisation to support families of different sizes.

Oasis was founded 25 years ago, to help victims of domestic abuse and their families.

The charity provides shelter, offers support for victims in court proceedings and runs group mentoring sessions.

In 2021, Oasis supported 622 adult victims and 163 children - 65% of whom were victims of emotional abuse themselves.

After the multi-million pound housing purchase, Oasis will own and manage more than 40 properties in Kent.

Charity boss Deborah Cartwright said: “This will give Oasis the opportunity to be a future-thinking housing provider.”

The purchase is part of Oasis’ plan to reinvent the way shelters of this kind are traditionally operated.

Moving away from larger communal-style residences to smaller individual homes will allowthe charity to support more diverse victims, says Ms Cartwright.

“We want to deliver an innovative method of refuge," she said.

“We leased our building in east Kent for 28 years but we wanted to get away from traditional models and provide refuge in a more diverse way.

“It will make it easier to support men, people with different accessibility needs, large families and women who have lost children for whom being housed with children can be painful.”

Ms Cartwright also makes it clear this change will not impact the level of support provided to service users, as central hubs will be established offering support including mentoring and yoga sessions.

On why she believes in this new method and supports the enormous investment required to transition to it, she says it is important for people who have been through trauma to be in their community and not shut off from it.

She added: “We’ve had a trauma-informed way of working for years but we know people who have had these experiences benefit from access to their community and connection to it.”