Investment theme: Moving on from abuse
Purpose:
To cover the cost of additional hours for the support worker to meet the increase in weekly referrals for support to survivors in the Borders via phone and online.
Year of grant: 23/4/2020
FR Number: FR-0052905
Amount awarded: £2970
Location: GALASHIELS
Full description
As we are no longer able to provide in person support session, we can provide support by other means such as phone support, Zoom support, text and email support. We are still receiving referrals and many survivors are engaging with us and seeking support. We are seeking this funding to increase our capacity to provide more support to those who really need it now more than ever. Over the last financial year, we have supported 233 survivors, 117 were new referrals to the service.
Since we made the decision to stop in person support, we have received more referrals than we would expect, our average weekly referrals are 2.25 and since lockdown over a two-week period this has risen to 3.5 referrals per week, this is a 55% increase. There is no doubt that this current situation is having a significant negative impact on survivor?s ability to cope with their distress and manage their emotional wellbeing and physical health. Having access to specialised, appropriate high-quality support is vital to supporting survivors to manage during this pandemic.
We are seeking funding to provide more support to survivors by:
-Telephone and Zoom support sessions.
-Text, email and phone support to keep in touch with those who need additional support
-Four weekly contact with survivors on our waiting list.
-Provide email resources to assist survivors to manage their distress and the current pandemic.
-To continue to accept new referrals.
This grant would allow us to provide an additional 297 worker hours, over a year.