Funding for charity to meet growing demand

A Wearside charity helping families escape domestic abuse has received financial help to manage a surge in referrals.

Wearside Women in Need (WWiN) provides accessible community-based services to women and children at risk of or suffering abuse, and is also part of a national network of providers which helps to ensure safe spaces are available to families in need.

It is currently dealing with more than 200 referrals a month from the police, social services and the families themselves.

Now it has received £5,000 from Newcastle Building Society to help cover the costs of meeting the increasing demand for its services and support families escaping domestic abuse.

Other charities to receive funding from the Society are Durham Christian Partnership (£5,000), Hospitality & Hope (£4,000), and Durham Action (£3,000).

Becky Rogerson, CEO at Wearside Women In Need, said: “We’ve sadly seen a significant increase in reports of domestic abuse over the last year,

and in the worst situations, this can mean families leaving their homes with nothing but the clothes they’re wearing. “We try to provide a holistic service that covers everything that families might require.

“The rise in referrals that we’ve experienced, and particularly the increasing numbers of safeguarding issues that have arisen with at risk children, has translated into far greater levels of demand being placed on our organisation and we’ve had to bring in additional staff."