One of the last face-to-face meetings we attended before the first national lockdown was a trip to Wakefield to visit the amazing Well Women Centre.

A strange time to be taking on a new client perhaps but a Reaching Communities grant, which funded an entire team, was coming to an end and, simply put, people’s jobs were at stake.

As the world entered lockdown, the National Lottery Community Fund froze their ongoing funding programme, meaning we couldn’t go back to request another grant. Instead, we developed a fundraising plan to keep an essential team running for the next three years. Just under half the women the Well Women Centre supports have experienced domestic abuse and the remainder have been exposed to other traumatic experiences including childhood sexual abuse, sex work, having children removed from their care and the Criminal Justice System.

We submitted seven funding applications, including a national Lottery Community Fund grant when the programme re-opened. Six were successful, securing a total of £588,264 to keep the team working for the next three years as well as enabling the Well Women Centre to fund additional staff.

Over three years, this funding will enable the organisation to support 411 women. Based on previous outcomes, 94% will feel better able to cope with the emotional impact of their experiences and 80% will feel supported to engage positively with child protection proceedings, increasing the likelihood of children being returned to their care.