Our organisational member Break The Silence, which supports survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse, is commemorating 15 years of changing lives.
The charity, which is based in Kilmarnock in Scotland, has helped 2,828 people since it was launched in 2004.
It was founded by Kate Short, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, who was unable to find the support she needed to work through her trauma.
Vision
Lesley Craig, co-chief executive, said: 鈥淜ate felt what was available was not suitable to meet her needs.
鈥淜ate had a vision for a service that would offer a range of support in one place to address many issues, not just one. It would be welcoming, non-threatening and safe. It would be Break the Silence. Kate did a huge amount of research and met with other agencies across Scotland.
鈥淲e were founded in 2004. That was the start of the journey and we originally supported survivors aged 16 and over.鈥�
now provides counselling to people aged 13 and above who are survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse, as well as partners and family members.
Lesley said: 鈥淲e have kept survivors at the heart of everything we do. We have survivor representation within our workforce, on our client-led advisory group and at board level.鈥�
Demand
Demand for Break The Silence鈥檚 services continues to grow. Indeed, over the last four years male referrals across East and North Ayrshire have increased by 42%, with spikes around high-profile news stories and story-lines in television programmes.
Sharon Belshaw, Break The Silence鈥檚 clinical lead and 香港六合彩精准资料 member, said that, for example, the bravery of former footballer Andy Woodhouse in speaking about how he was abused as a child by a coach encouraged many more people to come forward.
鈥淗is interview drove a massive increase in people coming forward to say that it had happened to them,鈥� Sharon said.
鈥淚t led to a 50% increase in males coming forward to Break The Silence, which was incredible.鈥�
Sharon said, there were also significant increases in people looking for help following storylines in Coronation Street, EastEnders and Hollyoaks.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening in the news and on TV programmes will move more people to seek support,鈥� she added.
Break The Silence has a number of events to mark their 15th birthday. The charity held a recent get-together for founder Kate Short, staff, trustees and volunteers and has an event planned for its client-led advisory group.
The community showed their support at a recent fundraising event organised by Killie Cares, an organisation which raises money for local charities, with Break The Silence one of three charities supported at the event.
Funding bid
Break The Silence will submit an application to the Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund. It is a 拢10m fund set up by Scottish Government 鈥渢o help organisations improve access to services which can reduce the impact of inequalities and disadvantage experienced as a result of childhood abuse鈥�.
Lesley said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity for Break The Silence to secure funds to enable us to manage the increase in demand and reduce waiting lists for support.鈥�
鈥淭o assist survivors, we have put self-help resources online, posted information about crisis helplines, and we now post helpline details on our social media over the weekend when we are closed.
鈥淲e have worked hard on partnership development, brokering relationships with other crisis agencies so if someone is in crisis there is somewhere they can get immediate help.
鈥淭here are texting services, online services, phone services, and a range of self-help resources and these details are also on our website.鈥�
Passionate
She added: 鈥淏reak The Silence is an inspiring place to work and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be part of such an amazing team.鈥�
鈥淭he work the team do in empowering survivors to transition beyond their trauma to live healthier better lives is so rewarding and is what makes us all so passionate about the work we do.鈥�