New Drop-In Service for Male Victims of Domestic Abuse Opens in Taunton ManKind Initiative's new drop-in service launched
Opening hours: Every Monday 11am to 2pm (no appointment necessary)
Venue: The ManKind Initiative, Flook House, Belvedere Road, Taunton, TA1 1BT Taunton-based charity, The ManKind Initiative, has launched a Monday drop-in service for male victims of domestic abuse in the county. The service, open between 11am and 2pm, gives male victims the chance to talk about the domestic abuse they are suffering from and find out how they can safely leave their relationship. There is no need for an appointment and they will be met with a welcoming environment with people from the charity who will listen to them, give them support and provide the information they need. The one-year project is being funded by Taunton Women’s Aid and has been created by the charity’s Independent Domestic Violence Adviser, Lori Busch. Leaflets and posters will be distributed throughout Taunton and the surrounding towns with barbers, pubs, sports clubs and GP surgeries being asked to display the literature. Requests for literature can be made at admin@mankind.org.uk and there is a dedicated webpage. Recent figures show that over 1,500 men report to Avon & Somerset police every year2 stating they are a victim of domestic abuse, however, the charity believes the figure is far higher given that many men do not tell anyone, let alone the police, that they are a victim. Taunton Women’s Aid Trustee, Anne Kearle, said: “Taunton Women’s Aid has supported women and children affected by domestic abuse in the local area for over thirty years. In recent years the aims of the charity were extended to help men, and men with children, who suffer similar abuse, so we are really pleased to work with the ManKind Initiative to help change lives.” Mark Brooks, Chairman of the ManKind Initiative, said: “We are delighted that Taunton Women's Aid wanted to create this groundbreaking service and that they then wanted us to support them in doing so. We are confident that this service will make a difference to those men suffering from domestic abuse in Somerset and we urge any man who wants to escape, to please drop-in. We have a first class team ready to support them. For men unable to come in person, please do not hesitate in calling our helpline.” |
Our 2016 round of grant funding is now open!
Summer 2016
Our 2016 round of grant-funding is now open. For full information, see our page Grants 2016.
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Mind in Taunton and West Somerset gets £5,000 Grant Funding
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Taunton Women’s Aid has given a grant of £5,000 to Mind in Taunton in West Somerset to develop workshops for schools about domestic abuse and the mental health issues this can cause.
Mind Chief Executive Officer Andy Pritchard said: “Mind are delighted to be developing this work. There has been increasing evidence that the majority of mental health and relationship problems start with experiences in childhood. If we can help young people understand their experiences and feelings and the reasons for their life choices, we believe we can start to prevent problems before they start. This work hasn’t come too soon and we are grateful that Women’s Aid are funding us to make a start on this much needed preventative approach.” We are so pleased to be able to help other local organisations to carry out work which helps turn lives around. |
Project lead Jan Copley, Taunton Women’s Aid Trustee Judith Smith
and Mind Chief Executive Officer Andy Pritchard.
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Women’s Voices at Election Time – A Question Time Style Evening
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To celebrate International Women’s Day 2015 a group of local women decided to host an event ‘Women’s Voices at Election Time – a Question Time Style Evening’, in Wiveliscombe on Friday 13 March 2015. We were delighted to learn that proceeds from the evening would be donated to Taunton Women’s Aid.
The five main political parties were invited to put forward a female representative to discuss a range of questions put to them by members of the audience. The panel members were: Laura Bailhache - UKIP candidate for Taunton Deane; Rachel Gilmour – Liberal Democrat candidate for Taunton Deane; Julie Harvey-Smith - Green Party Candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset; Rebecca Pow - Conservative candidate for Taunton, and Brenda Weston – Labour – former County councillor. Rosie Boycott, who now lives locally co-founded Spare Rib magazine in the 1970’s, and has remained active within the women’s movement, was also a panel member. Over 220 men and women of all ages spent a very interesting evening in Kingsmead School hall, listening to lively discussions on a range of topics. |
Women's Voices at election time, from left to right: Rebecca Pow, Helena Suffield-Thompson, Rachel Gilmour, Brenda Weston, Julie Harvey-Smith, Rosie Boycott and Fodo Higginson.
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Taunton Women’s Aid to become grant-making charity
18 August 2014
Taunton Women’s Aid is to become an independent grant-making charity and withdraw from delivering services in the Taunton area. Taunton Women’s Aid has provided support for women and children affected by domestic abuse in the Taunton area for over thirty years. Chair Janice Eagles explained: “We managed local refuge services until 2012, when domestic abuse services were put out to tender by Somerset County Council. Unfortunately, because we were a small, local charity we were unable to bid to run a county-wide service. Since then we have been running successful projects and support groups in the community, including working with the Halcon 1 team - a multi-agency team led by the police. We are very sorry that our current phase of active project work is drawing to a close. However, we hope to continue to be a charity that serves women and families in Taunton – although this will be in a new and different way for the foreseeable future. Later this year, Taunton Women’s Aid plans to re-launch as a grant-making charity, awarding small grants to projects that support adults and children in the Taunton area affected by domestic abuse. Further information will be available from www.tauntonwomensaid.org.uk. For more information or if you have any enquiries, please email info@tauntonwomensaid.org.uk. |
Putting our thanks on record
"We would like to extend our thanks to all our supporters and
especially to the staff who will be leaving Taunton Women’s Aid, for all of the
hard work that they have put into supporting women and children. We wish them – and all the women and families
who we have worked with – best wishes and good luck for the future."
Janice Eagles, Chair, on behalf of the Management Committee Please note:
TWA no longer manage the refuge services within Taunton Please contact: www.womensaid.org.uk or www.somersetsurvivors.org.uk |
