Fantastic start to the New Year for a Bradford based charity, it secures £35,000 grant from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. The Staying Put initiative which will make sure abused women are not forced out of their own home and can feel safe from further abuse.
Eastern European Women living with domestic violence in Bradford are to get vital support to protect them and their children.  The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation   has pledged to match fund the initiative with the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales.  The initiative is funded to work with Eastern European Communities.

This is an exciting new development; funded for eighteen months, aiming to identify the full extent of the issues affecting the community.  A full time worker, with the appropriate community language skills has commenced employment.  Their primary aim is to work towards engaging, empowering and sustaining Eastern European communities across the Bradford district.

Staying Put is an innovative voluntary sector organisation and registered charity providing Community Services .The main aim of Staying Put is to enable women and children experiencing domestic abuse in the Bradford district to remain safely in their own homes. Staying Put aims to achieve this through the provision of community domestic abuse services for women and children resident within the Bradford district.

Staying Put further seeks to increase the safety of women and children who experience domestic violence/abuse by providing a range of diverse services challenging men, supporting women, working in partnership, influencing policy and campaigning for change.  We assist up to 1400 women and children every year across the Bradford district. In 2009/10 approximately 30% of all violent crime reported to the police was domestic violence related. In Bradford 7,426 incidents of domestic violence were reported to the police, with 83% involving female victims (West Yorkshire Police data). It is anticipated that this figure will increase in 2011/12. 

Shelley Black – Chair of Staying Put says “this is in deed exciting news for Staying Put as we work proactively with the aim to engage all sections of the community and this grant is a life line for Eastern European families.  We are committed to doing everything we can to protect the most vulnerable people within our communities. By working closely in partnership we will continue to strive towards making our district as safe as possible for all our residents.”

Bradford Metropolitan District Council (BMDC), the Primary Care Trust (PCT) and West Yorkshire Police as well as other key stakeholders in the domestic abuse sector support this initiative. This development will strengthen and streamline existing violence against women sector services funded by BMDC and the PCT, so that women who are vulnerable and finding the process of dealing with the difficulties of an abusive relationship frightening can gain a service from one point of contact.

To receive further information please contact Staying Put duty worker on: 01274 667104