Member Article

Funds help victims of violence to launch volunteer group

INSIGHT Counselling, Coaching and Support Services is using the positive impact that it has had on service users to extend its support to other victims of domestic violence in Nuneaton, North Warwickshire and Stratford upon Avon.

Having secured £7,798 in funding from the Coalfields Community Investment Programme, delivered by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, the organisation will train individuals who have used its services to run a pilot volunteer support group from the end of January 2020.

Hoping to upskill people that have previously accessed professional counselling and coaching from its registered staff, the organisation will use this project to extend the number of victims that it engages with throughout the community.

Calling upon the expertise of those that have been in a similar position, the organisation will give volunteers the resources and skills they need to pass on the tools and techniques to help others out of difficult and debilitating situations.

Chief Officer for INSIGHT, Kate Farmer, comments: “With this funding we can extend our services and have a wider impact on more people throughout the community. Domestic abuse is not as uncommon as people believe and that is why we hope that through this pilot we can provide the ongoing mentoring that our service users need.

“Calling upon volunteers that have been in the same position made perfect sense to us. They speak the same language and know first-hand what others are going through. This compassion and empathy is invaluable for those that need to talk openly about their experiences.

“We can’t thank the Coalfields Regeneration Trust enough for their support. It is thanks to funding like this that we are able to carry on and to make a difference when it matters most.”

Development Manager for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Steve Abson, comments: “It is thanks to innovative ideas like this that the services offered through community-based organisations have such a huge impact. Thinking differently and looking at volunteer groups can create a resource that will offer a lifeline to residents.

“We see the potential in many of the organisations that we work with but there is only so much that we can do. That is why we are calling upon Government to create a dedicated Coalfield Investment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nick Hill .