Big Lottery Fund: Big mosaic of support services for survivors of sexual abuse
Tuesday, 12 June 2012 9:53 AM
A Bradford project that offers vital support and a ‘sanctuary’ to the survivors of sexual abuse is one of three Yorkshire projects celebrating a much-needed injection of Lottery good causes cash today, totalling £1,070,480.
The funding comes from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities programme, which aims to help those most in need and build stronger communities.
Mosaic II receives £498,953 to expand its service to cover the whole of West Yorkshire, supporting survivors, and families of survivors, of sexual abuse and helping to relieve their mental and physical distress. Beneficiaries can suffer a range of physical and mental issues such as depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, eating disorders and emotional issues related to anger, with some beneficiaries experiencing suicidal tendencies.
Through the project they will receive free, unlimited counselling and a range of other treatments such as complementary therapies to aid relaxation, physical wellbeing sessions focussing on subjects including healthy eating and activities such as boxercise to enable those experiencing anger to find a safe physical outlet for their emotions. A befriending service and telephone helpline will also continue.
Linda Colclough of Mosaic II said: “We feel totally overwhelmed and cannot believe how fortunate we are to have secured this funding for the next four years. This will make such a huge difference to the lives of the hundreds of clients who currently access Mosaic II’s services, as we are the only organisation offering a holistic approach to working with local families whose lives have been affected by sexual abuse.
“Mosaic II has been described as a ‘sanctuary’ by clients who have nowhere else they can go that has an understanding of their needs. We work with parents who have discovered their child has been sexually abused as well as male and female survivors of sexual abuse. We are aware there is very little support for male survivors in this locality.”
Also receiving funding this month is Bradford Talking Magazines, which receives £282,394 to continue providing information in various formats on topics such as budgets, medical information and statutory rights to people who are unable to access information through the written word due to issues including learning disabilities, visual impairment or due to physical reasons that may prevent someone from holding a book. The range of formats includes audio books and multi-lingual ‘Easyread’ booklets. Funding will enable the group to reach an even wider range of beneficiaries and disabled volunteers will be trained and supported to gain new skills and improve their future employment prospects. Over 2,000 beneficiaries and a minimum of 64 volunteers will be helped by the project.
Nearly £290,000 also goes to Doncaster Citizens Advice Bureau to provide advice services to people with serious long-term illness to help them deal with situations such as accessing benefits, reduced household income and unmanageable debts, all of which can hinder recovery. The project will deliver regular advice sessions, including telephone support, home visits and outreach sessions at health service settings. It will recruit volunteers, many who are ex-service users, to be trained to provide additional advice capacity, or as client befrienders to mentor those who are socially isolated.
Vanessa White, Big Lottery Fund’s Head of the Yorkshire and Humber region, said: “These awards will allow these groups to continue their vital work, providing vulnerable and hard-to-reach people with much-needed advice, support and understanding. This funding represents a huge vote of confidence in the important work these groups do to help people get their lives back on track.”
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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Notes to Editors
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 370,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
