Cumbria’s first refuge for men affected by domestic abuse has been given an £8,000 boost by a supermarket.
Springfield Domestic Abuse Support, based in South Lakeland, was given the cash by the Morrisons Foundation.
The grant will go towards the opening of the charity’s male safe accommodation service, which will provide short term emergency accommodation to male survivors of domestic abuse.
Tori O’Callaghan-Lake, Springfield Domestic Abuse Support CEO, said: “Later this year Springfield will be opening our male safe accommodation service which will provide short term emergency accommodation to male survivors of domestic abuse.
“This will be the first accommodation service of its kind in Cumbria, with no existing provision of specialist domestic abuse supported accommodation for men in the county.
“Thanks to the support from the Morrisons Foundation, the project will provide accommodation and offer specialist support to men who are at the highest risk of harm and homicide due to domestic abuse, helping them recover from the trauma and abuse they have experienced.”
Rachel Latham, community champion at the Morrisons store in Kendal, recommended the charity as part of the Morrisons Foundation’s Community Spaces Fund, set up to celebrate the supermarket’s 125th Anniversary.
The fund invited 125 charities to apply for a share of £1 million with grants of up to £8,000 each to enhance community spaces and local facilities, helping them to make a difference for many more years to come.
Rachel said: “I’m very proud that through the Morrisons Foundation we have been able to help Springfield Domestic Abuse Support develop their new facility to provide vital support to men affected by domestic abuse.
“The refuge really will make a huge difference to the lives of men and their families in Cumbria and it was an honour to present this donation to such a worthy local charity.”
Earlier this year, Tori said: “The Office for National Statistics show every year that one in three victims of domestic abuse are male. That’s 757,000 men to 1.561m women.
“Yet according to Safelives data only 4.4% men are being supporting by local domestic services. The more awareness there is of male domestic abuse, the less taboo surrounds the issue and the more men will contact us for support.”
Springfield has been supporting vulnerable people in South Lakeland since 1915. Today that includes a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, as well as a community-based service that provides one-to-one, peer support and therapeutic group work for anyone who has experienced or may be experiencing domestic abuse.
