Eight charities from across the region have been awarded funding by Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, from a £150,000 pot to help victims of crime.
The groups, from across the West Midlands, have been successful in applying to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victims Fund, which will help those dealing with the impact criminal behaviour has had on their lives.
This year’s recipients have been chosen specifically because of the impact of the cost of living crisis, which includes helping keep a women-only drop in service open in Birmingham and the appointment of an Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate (IDVA) to work in the traveller community.
The funding has been awarded as a one-off grant to:
- Coventry Panahghar Project – to provide tailor made care packages for women and children.
- Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre – to help with increasing running costs of their support services, as cases become increasingly complex.
- RSVP West Midlands – to help tackle increasing costs linked to a rise in referrals and more difficult decisions.
- Remedi – to create a service-user beneficiary fund, to support victims and to help existing teams to reach as many victims as possible.
- The Haven, Wolverhampton – to ensure the continuation of support services
- Kairos Women Working Together – to contribute to a support and advocacy practitioner to help with significant increasing demands.
- Anawim – to contribute to the women’s only drop-in service, which is currently under resourced and seeing an increase in demand.
- Birmingham Irish Association – to employ an IDVA, to join the team who work in the traveller community to offer specialist support for victims.
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “We received applications from a number of worthy groups, all of which are doing fantastic work across the region and narrowing the list down was a real challenge.
“One of the top priorities in my Police and Crime Plan is to help and support victims and this £150,000 fund will go some way towards doing just that – at a time when these support services need help most.
“The work being carried out by these organisations is absolutely vital and appreciated – and I am delighted to help support them in this way.”
Victims’ Commissioner, Nicky Brennan, said: “The cost of living crisis has had an unbelievable impact on some of the most vital groups helping victims across the West Midlands.
“As my own Domestic Abuse Cost of Living report showed, support services are struggling to maintain their levels of support, with more women needing help and less money to go around.
“We have a track record of doing all we can to help victims and the funding will make a real difference to those who need it most. “My vision is to ensure we are delivering high quality care and support services for all victims of crime, so we can reduce the harm caused by offenders.”
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