About Us
Founder - Bridie Anderson
The key focus of Better Lives is on Homicide Prevention Advocacy; Bridie believes that the key to ending domestic abuse and the multiple deaths that result from it, is to really focus in on enhancing professional's, and the community's, ability to advocate for stronger understanding around, and application of the legal, societal and civil ways in which perpetrators of this incredibly damaging harm can be held to account and their behaviours robustly challenged.
Bridie founded Better Lives in 2020 following well over a decade of dedicated and outstanding service as a Police Officer across two different forces. The last 8 years of her policing career were based at Force Headquarters in the role of Force Advisor for Domestic Abuse and Stalking for Surrey Police.
This role really fuelled Bridie's passion for the work being undertaken by so many within the Domestic Abuse (DA) sector and the pressing need for so much more work to be done in order to ensure safer, happier and better lives for individuals and families into the future.
Working as the Force DA & Stalking Advisor allowed Bridie the opportunity to develop her skills, qualifications. training and understanding in so many areas including - early identification of domestic abuse and stalking behaviours, managing perpetrators, evidencing controlling and coercive behaviour, supporting victims/survivors and building strong evidential criminal cases.
Bridie was a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) panel member for Surrey cases, on behalf of the Police, and has gained valuable experience of identifying many of the areas where improvement and training is required, across various organisations in order to help prevent the large number of homicides committed by DA perpetrators year on year. Bridie is also a qualified DHR Chair, having completed the Home Office and accredited 'AAFDA' Chair training in April 2021.
Despite the love of her role within the Police, her team & organisation, Bridie took the brave decision to leave her much loved career in order to pursue what has become her passion and purpose; providing her skills and experience to a wider audience and being a more far reaching and dedicated participant in the ongoing, collective endeavour to end DA. Hence, Better Lives was born and Bridie began the rather scary, but incredibly fulfilling, task of setting up on her own!
Bridie now also works as a contractor, providing Service Manager assistance & additional volunteer work for specialist DA charity (ESDAS) and delivers pro bono work to various DA sector charities in the form of consulting, case advice and staff training. This not only benefits the charities and their beneficiaries, but allows Bridie to keep her knowledge and understanding of the battles faced by victims/survivors, support services and employers current and relevant. This in turn informs and enhances all of the Better Lives training and consultancy offerings.
Bridie takes immense pride in the training and consultancy delivered by Better Lives. She is also highly committed to her own continued professional development; regularly attending/accessing training, events and completing learning/awareness courses (all of which detailed below and discussed in her blogs.) This demonstrates our commitment to guarantee that our clients receive services, advice and training which is up to date and based on the very latest data, research and experience.
Bridie is also an Associate trainer for leading DA charity SafeLives and an Associate trainer for AbuseFreeLife and Red Snapper Group which ensures her knowledge and product range remains current and her relationships with colleagues and staff from the sector stays strong. This all provides for an assured quality of service and product from Better Lives and one on which your organisation can rely.
Credentials, training and skills
Homicide Timeline, VIolent Resistance, Suicide Timeline and Conspiratorial Homicide training (Professor Jane Monckton Smith)
MARAC Chair Training (SafeLives)
Mental Health First Aider (MHFA England)
Domestic Homicide Review Chair Training (AAFDA)
BTEC Level 4 Qualification in Education and Training
CIEH Level 3 Award in Education and Training
City & Guilds Level 4 NVQ in Policing
City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ in Policing
Stalking Risk Profile (SRP) trained - Canterbury University
DASH Masterclass & DASH train the trainer (Laura Richards)
'DA Matters' trainer - SafeLives
'DA - The Whole Picture' trainer - SafeLives
White Ribbon Champion
Family Liaison Officer - Crime and Traffic
City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ in Care
City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ in Care
Continued Professional Development
12/13/14/15.07.21
Accredited Mental Health First Aider Training (MHFA England)
26/27/30.04.21
AAFDA - Accredited Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) Chair training
13.04.21
SafeLives: A Year of Covid – Understanding the Impact on the Domestic Abuse Frontline
13.04.21
AAFDA Domestic Abuse Related Suicide and Best Practice in Suicide Domestic Homicide Reviews
22.03.21
Policing Domestic Abuse - Research Network Launch (CRiVA)
02.03.21 & 09.03.21
Women's Aid 'Change That Lasts' - Trusted Professional Training
26.02.2021
STADA DHRs and Intersectionality webinar
09.02.2021
AAFDA DHR webinar
04.02.2021
Breaking the silence on Domestic Violence - Speaking out and standing up to violence against women. An audience with Jasvinder Sanghera CBE and MP Jess Phillips
02.02.2021
Alpha Vesta - 'Domestic Abuse and Coronavirus - The Toxic Mix' (Trainer: Lucy Whittaker)
14.01.21 - 18.02.21
Centre for Women's Justice (CWJ) 6 week Legal training course
18.01.21
Homicide Timeline Training - Jane Monckton Smith (e-learning package)
26.11.20
Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) Network Meeting
26.11.20
Femicide Census webinar - '10 years of men's fatal violence against women and girls in the UK 2009/18'
18.11.20
SUTDA - Lundy Bancroft webinar (Perpetrator Profile)
14.10.20
Alpha Vesta - 'Impact of Domestic Abuse on Children (Trainer: Lucy Whittaker)
06.10.20
AAFDA training - Being an Effective DHR panel Member
