‘Making futures brighter’
Old-fashioned kindness and a listening ear are helping hundreds of women recover from crisis situations, thanks to Yvonne Copley’s small charity
When Yvonne Copley made the same resolution for the fourth new year running, her husband, David, suggested it was time for action. His gentle push came with a promise that he would support Yvonne financially so she could quit her job devising rehabilitation programmes for the prison and voluntary sector. In theory, there was nothing to stop her in her quest to launch a new charity project that would help women with problems get back on their feet. In practice, she had a big problem herself. “I felt strongly that there needed to be ‘something’ available to support women who felt lonely and isolated after a crisis point in their life. I just didn’t know exactly what that was,” admits Yvonne (62) who lives with David in North Yorkshire. There’d been no big Eureka moment when Yvonne had seen a clear vision of her goal. It had been more a building up of years of experience dealing with troubled people. “The thought had been there a long time but it was more of a gut feeling,” she explains. A Yorkshire farmer’s daughter, Yvonne had grown up loving the freedom and space her environment had given her. When she left her job as a sixthform college teacher to work in a local women’s open prison, she realised how privileged she’d been compared to others’ backgrounds – even though she was then a single mum of three after the breakdown of her first marriage. “I was fortunate. I had lots of support
‘I just feel very humbled and privileged that women will allow me to be part of their lives’
from friends. They were great,” she says. Thriving in her new role helping women turn their lives around by equipping them with literacy and life skills, Yvonne carried on working within the prison service for 20 years. During that time, after further training, she worked for the Home Office developing national rehabilitation programmes for women’s and men’s prisons nationwide. “It was very rewarding work. I’d like to think I made a difference but you’re never really sure,” she says. The one thing she was sure of was the level of isolation and loneliness that existed among women. Although those with serious problems from mental health disorders, domestic violence or homelessness often received professional help when at crisis point, there was a lack of ongoing support. “Yet often this is the point where women need help to get back on their feet. Often their journey is just beginning,” adds Yvonne, who was also a Samaritans volunteer. With David’s backing, Yvonne handed in her notice and spent a year
researching voluntary sector services to see how she could set up a charitable project to help women in York. The answer turned out to be a simple one – a drop-in centre where women could find kindness and a free cup of tea. In November 2013, the Kyra Women’s Project was launched in a single room in an old workshop in York city centre. To pay the rent, Yvonne and volunteer friends, including three fellow Samaritans, began fundraising. Despite the humble start there was a feeling they’d ‘arrived’. “We’d got a base, a kettle and biscuits!” says Yvonne. “I didn’t know quite how it was going to work out at all and I’d never set up a charity before, so it was an incredibly big learning curve. All I did know was that I had some amazing volunteers behind me.” A month after setting up however, she began to doubt her instinct and found herself asking: “What on earth have I done?” For the first two sessions, only one woman and her dog turned up, so it was clear they needed to get information about the project out in the community. Dropping off leaflets round doctors’ surgeries and charities, women gradually began to turn up to sessions. “There were a lot of sleepless nights, but I think our passion and determination kept us going,” she says. Today more than 550 women can be grateful for that. With the help of 45 volunteers – nobody at Kyra is paid – the project provides a wide variety of free support services five days and two evenings a week from counselling and assertiveness training to money skills and relaxation classes. Many just drop in for a friendly cuppa and a chat. “There is nothing scientific or clever about this,” says Yvonne. “It is just about befriending, listening and supporting and being there. We hold out our hand and say to all women ‘you can hold it for as long as like.” Kyra’s biggest headache is finding funding but the rewards outweigh the constant struggle. “I just feel very humbled and privileged that women will allow me to be part of their lives,” says Yvonne. “The reward is when somebody comes to say: ‘Thank you. I don’t know where I would have been, or what I would have done without you. Now I can see a future I could never see before.” “That’s all you need to hear.”
To find out about the Kyra project call 01904 632332 or visit www.kyra.org.uk
‘The reward is when somebody says: “I don’t know what I would have done without you”’