West Yorkshire domestic and sexual abuse support organisations set to benefit from nearly half a million pounds of emergency funding

Sixteen different local organisations and charities, as selected by the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, will benefit from a share of £495,640 to support ongoing projects and new initiatives helping to address domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Several of them are Leeds based organisations such as Behind Closed Doors, Leeds Women’s Aid and Women’s Health Matters.

“I am really pleased that we have been able to offer grants to a variety of different organisations across the region to offer vital support and advice to victims of domestic and sexual abuse. It’s been a real challenge to turn this around so quickly, but thanks to the staff at the Office of PCC (OPCC) and all our partner organisations in receipt of this funding we have been able to move quickly and achieve it.”

“One of my main priorities as PCC is to ensure vulnerable people and victims of crime have the ongoing support of the police and access to vital services they need through this ongoing pandemic and beyond.

“Just last week, with my office and key partners I launched a new state-of-the-art facility, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) here in West Yorkshire, which is now fully operational and will help transform and improve the experience of vulnerable victims and witnesses by having all dedicated and accessible specialist services under one roof, which is very timely to link in with this extra funding announcement.”

The money comes from a £25m pot of extraordinary Covid19 funding via the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) which is being distributed through two separate funds, one through Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and one through the national Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund.

Shantona Women’s and Family Centre is based in Harehills and is another Leeds charity set to benefit.

Chief Executive, Nahid Rasool said: “As a small organisation we always deliver high quality services, with the resources available to us. However, when COVID 19 hit, we were aware of the unique challenges our community would face. Whilst continuing to reach out to our most vulnerable communities, we realised we are not equipped with adequate technologies for staff to work from home, creating innovative ways to reach further and support our service users. This grant of £13,244 will help us build the organisation capacity and response quickly.”

The full list of West Yorkshire beneficiaries is Behind Closed Doors, Staying Put, Leeds Women’s Aid, Leeds Women’s Aid – Leeds Domestic Violence Service, Women’s Health Matters, Kirklees and Calderdale Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (KCRASAC), JAMES (Joint Activities and Motor Education Service), Shantona Women’s and Family Centre, Anah Project, Survivors West Yorkshire, Karma Nirvana, Victim Support, Bradford Rape Crisis, Yorkshire Children’s Centre, WomenCentre Limited, Support after Rape and Sexual Violence (SARSVL).