The Coronavirus outbreak has been difficult for everyone. But imagine having to choose between self isolating with your abusive partner, or escaping with young children at the height of a pandemic.
“More than 40,000 calls and contacts were made to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, almost 80% higher than usual, during the first three months of lockdown.”
For women and children in our refuge, life is challenging. Many have left with nothing to their name, no clothes, no possessions. Many have been forced to leave family pets at home. Children have been taken out of schools, to prevent the perpetrator from finding them, and have been taken to a place where everything is unfamiliar.
When women and their families first come to our refuge, they are greeted by one of our support workers who are there to care and help the family settle in. While there is some relief in finding shelter after such a trauma, moving into an unknown place is daunting. Everything is unknown and uncertain, nothing you used to know.
Due to financial constraints and high demand, the rooms in our refuge have become worn. Things are over-used and tired and they don’t provide the homely feel our families so desperately need at this scary time. That un-explainable feeling that provides comfort and reassurance.
But you can help change that. Our refuges desperately need to purchase new essential items, decor and new mattresses to re-vamp their rooms and help our families settle in.
Our refuges need 12 new mattresses at a cost of £160 each. On top of this, we would love to purchase new toys for every child in our refuge. A toy not only provides much-needed comfort but also provides a feeling of ownership a child so desperately needs at this time. We hope to purchase toys and books suitable for all genders, ages, and cultures.
Please donate today and help support vulnerable families moving into refuge. Help provide that ‘feeling of home.’
