Whitehaven Community Trust will provide safe housing for vulnerable young mothers across Cumbria thanks to a new £70,389 grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.
The charity is the only provider of specialist support in the area, running a Mother and Baby Hostel to help women in tough circumstances and who have experienced domestic violence get back on their feet. With the help of their grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation, Whitehaven Community Trust will be able to increase their opening hours and offer more support to help vulnerable young mothers to live safe and independent lives.
Through the hostel the charity offers a range of support services to young mothers including helping them develop skills such as budgeting and DIY, or parenting skills such as feeding and changing, to help equip them with the confidence they need to live independently and break the negative cycle of teenage pregnancy.
Kerry Maxwell OBE, Chief Executive, The Whitehaven Community Trust said: ‘’I am absolutely thrilled and so grateful that we have received the funding from Lloyds Bank Foundation. This is a real achievement for us in today’s climate as there are limited opportunities for funding and sometime small charities like ourselves miss out even though we have been supporting young people with complex issues for over 28 years. The funding will enable us to provide more holistic wrap around support service to the young vulnerable women and their babies. The funding will also enable us to employ at least two more local people. I’m looking forward to working in partnership with the Foundation and I can’t thank them enough, it’s amazing.’’
Paul Streets OBE, Chief Executive, Lloyds Bank Foundation said: “As our latest research has shown, there is a quiet crisis facing local authorities. Ever-tighter budgets mean vulnerable people have to rely on the support of local charities like Whitehaven Community Trust. They’re not just a ‘nice to have’ – their work is making a vital difference, day in, day out to people’s lives. We’re proud to partner with the Whitehaven Community Trust as part of Lloyds Banking Group’s plan to Help Britain Prosper, supporting the costs of their work, strengthening them, and helping raise their voice among the policy-makers and decision-makers their future depends on.”
Whitehaven Community Trust Way is one of four charities in the North East and Cumbria supported in Lloyds Bank Foundation’s latest funding round, which awarded £263,813 across the region, tackling issues such as addiction, domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales partner with small and local charities helping people overcome complex social issues such as mental health, homelessness and domestic abuse. With the Foundation’s support, small charities like the Whitehaven Community Trust who are often underfunded, under pressure and too often ignored, are able to make life-changing impact where others can’t.
