Wear Valley Women’s Aid
Wear Valley Women’s Aid is a well-established charity, based in Bishop Auckland, which supports women from across the North East. It provides emergency and temporary supported accommodation to women and children fleeing domestic violence and abuse, alongside a range of support options, advice and guidance. The charity offers a comprehensive outreach project, one-to-one and counselling support, plus access to an Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy worker and legal advice. The overarching aim of the work is to prevent repeat victimisation, and for refuge residents, with support, to go on to secure sustainable accommodation and set up independent lives.
In October 2017, the Foundation agreed a grant of £7,500 which will contribute to the core running costs of Wear Valley Women’s Aid. Over the next year it aims to increase the capacity of its outreach work, increase its advocacy support, and enable more women to be supported going through court procedures. The charity hopes to make a lasting difference to the women’s lives – by providing on-going empowerment, boosting the women’s self-esteem and confidence – and regularly running group-work such as Power-to-Change courses and the Freedom programme.
