The Handbag Project
West Midlands Police have very generously donated 95 handbags and a wide range of toiletries too. These will be handed out to female sex workers who have faced or are at risk of sexual violence and abuse, and are accessing services offered via the new Red Project. The donations will mean women will receive everyday essentials in the handbags and information about support services too.
The Red Project is a West Midlands wide service offered by RSVP, Black Country Womens Aid (BCWA) and CRASAC. It’s a partnership which is funded via the Tampon Tax, specifically for female sex workers facing or at risk of sexual abuse.
From left to right:
Clare, Prevention Worker from RSVP
Sally Simpson, Detective Chief Inspector from West Midlands Police
Alison, Butterfly Project worker from BCWA
Detective Chief Inspector Sally Simpson, Lead for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences, Modern Slavery and Sex Work at Public Protection Unit, West Midlands Police, acknowledges how female sex workers are often targeted and how the project will help to build relationships.
“West Midlands Police recognise that sex workers can be incredibly vulnerable as they are targeted for violent and serious sexual crimes. For many reasons sex workers find it difficult to report offences and engage with the police. The handbag project is a great way for WMP to work closely with our partners in RSVP/Black Country Women’s Aid/CRASAC to distribute vital safety information and information about support services such as Sexual Assault Referral Centres and National Ugly Mugs. By supporting this project we hope to build the trust of sex workers so they may feel able to report either directly or through the outreach and prevention workers so that we can target those people who seek to cause them harm.”
We are delighted to receive the donations from the police as they enable us to deliver items to those in the greatest need and get the project, which only started last year, off to such a great start. Thanks to all involved.
Good news!
We are delighted to receive news that Garfield Weston Foundation will support RSVP through 2018/19. They will contribute to the costs of delivering counselling to sexual violence survivors.
By funding us for core costs, they are strengthening our foundations for the year, securing funding for counselling staff and contributing to overhead costs. Counselling is our busiest service; from 1st January we have received 393 new requests for counselling from adults and children who have experienced sexual abuse. The need for specialist, trauma-informed support is great, and continues to grow.
Thank you so much to the foundation, from the whole RSVP team, for recognising the importance of our workin our 40th year and boldly showing your support for survivors.
Festival of Trees
As Christmas trees and all things glittery are taken down across the nation we wanted to show you the tree that our survivor led craft group, Arts With Hearts decorated ,which also made a difference for abused children. You’ll then know where to come to if you still need some Christmas sparkles in your life!
In collaboration with Irwin Mitchell the tree brightened up the foyer of the ICC during December and was part of the NSPCC’s Festival of Trees. Irwin Mitchell sponsored the tree, with the sponsorship going to fund the NSPCC’s work. Our craft group were then invited by Irwin Mitchell to decorate it with the beautiful handmade decorations they made.
We’re sure you’ll agree that the tree was beautifully creative and unique, we thank Irwin Mitchell for allowing us to be involved but more importantly all the survivors who created the beautiful decorations.
New Online Support
We are delighted to launch a new online support package for survivors of sexual violence and abuse in Birmingham and Solihull.
‘A Taste of Recovery’ is a new way for survivors waiting for RSVP counselling to access practical support from RSVP; identifying the effects of sexual trauma and developing coping strategies for improved emotional wellbeing. The resource is created by Emily Jacob at ReConnected Life, it’s delivered in bite-size chunks, with the compassion and understanding of someone who has been there too.
We know that accessing support can feel daunting, and we know that time spent waiting for face-to-face counselling can be difficult. ‘A Taste of Recovery’ builds on what we know about the effects of trauma and offers a taster of our support services, that you can access immediately, from your own home.
This new support package has been made possible with support from the People’s Postcode Trust and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, and is also a development of the 2016/17 West Midlands PCC funded Cope & Recover project we previously offered.
We’re shortlisted in the running awards
We were nominated for a national award to acknowledge our work using running as a means of emotional wellbeing for survivors of abuse. Great news…we’ve been shortlisted! Now that we’re a finalist, we’d love to get your vote and nudge closer to winning the small charity award.
You can vote for us here https://therunningawards.com
If you are interested in trying out running yourself, in a safe and supportive environment, you might be interested in the weekly running group for survivors or the Run Talk (Walk) weekly event. Both take place at Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston. They’re free to join and focuses on gentle running for relaxation and fun. Drop Lisa an email if you’re interested: lisa@rsvporg.co.uk
We’re Open
Good news…
We are open today, Tuesday 12th December, we are assessing the situation hour by hour.
We are pleased that we can be here for you again.
Lisa Thompson
CEO
Snow Update
Monday 11th December:
We are sorry to announce that for the second day running we won’t be open due to the weather. There is some public transport running but it is limited and we know that schools are off too. We don’t think it’s safe for the survivors we support or our team to make a journey.
Stay indoors in the warm today. We’ll reopen as usual tomorrow.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
Lisa Thonpson
CEO
Snow Update
We are sorry to announce that today, Sunday 10th December, we won’t be open due to the weather. We opened yesterday but due to heavier snowfall overnight we felt unable to avoid this situation, as we don’t think it’s safe for the survivors we support to make a journey.
Also many of our team have tried to get to our offices so we can carry on as normal but haven’t been able to reach RSVP.
Stay indoors in the warm today. We’ll reassess the situation tomorrow and update you about services then.
Lisa Thompson
CEO
10th December 2017
Great News!
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse has selected RSVP as one of only 17 organisations across the country to fund us to evaluate our services for sexually abused children and young people.
This is really important funding. It will allow us to monitor the effectiveness of our support services for children, measure the impact our support has on the lives of children, young people and families and ensure we are making a difference. We’ll be consulting with young people and families who use our services to make sure that the services properly reflect what young people need.
You can read more about the fund, and the other projects awarded here www.csacentre.org.uk/research-publications/evaluation-fund
If you are a child or young person who has faced sexual abuse or you know one who has, you can talk to us, we’re here for you and we believe you. Call 0121 643 0301 to talk about services or call the helpline or 0121 643 4136
Third Sector grants – Success!
Back in May we shared news that the Birmingham City Council were recommending that Third Sector grants, that fund 41 charities in the city, be removed as part of budget cuts.
We shared the public consultation paper, and invited you as members of the public, as users of our services and the people who would be affected by these changes, to contribute your thoughts.
You did, and it had a real impact. The cabinet agreed to extend Third Sector grants to 31st March 2018.
Thank you for your support, you made a difference.
Find out who currently supports our work, and how you can donate or fundraise for us here rsvporg.co.uk/support-us