Before you leave, stay here for one more breath.
You do not need to hold everything at once. You do not need to visit every room. You do not need to leave with tidy answers.
This final threshold is a place to gather what you are taking with you, and to step out at your own pace.
Story text
Door 25 – Before You Step Out
Every house changes the air around you. Some rooms stay in the body longer than others. Some doors keep echoing after they have closed.
This last space does not ask you to solve anything. It asks only that you notice what is still with you now: a feeling, a question, a line, a shift in the way you are listening.
You may leave with grief. You may leave with anger. You may leave with tenderness, or uncertainty, or a clearer sense of what must change. Whatever you are carrying, you do not have to force it into neatness before you step out.
Online resources
Support information and links
Support information and links connected to domestic abuse awareness and survivor support.
Bedfordshire based services
Butterflies in Shades of Grey
The Butterflies in Shades of Grey programme is a comprehensive support initiative designed to assist both direct and indirect victims of domestic and sexual violence. This programme acknowledges the complex nature of trauma and offers a multi-faceted approach to healing and empowerment.
Bedfordshire Police
Bedfordshire Police and partners are working together to tackle perpetrators of violence or abuse against women and girls, including rape and sexual offences, stalking and domestic abuse.
BDAP
Bedfordshire Domestic Abuse Partnership offers information, support pathways and local connections for people affected by domestic abuse across Bedfordshire.
National services
24 Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline for Women
0808 2000 247
Helping women escape domestic abuse.
ManKind Initiative
0808 800 1170
Helping men escape domestic abuse.
Galop
0800 999 5428
Support for LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violence.
16 Days of Action 2025
This year’s 16 Days of Action Our House tour and workshops is proud to be funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Grassroots Innovation Fund.