Lifeline for local counselling charity
A Rotherham charity which helps hundreds of people rebuild their lives after experiencing trauma and abuse has been given a major funding boost.
A Rotherham charity which helps hundreds of people rebuild their lives after experiencing trauma and abuse has been given a major funding boost.
Rotherham Abuse Counselling Service (Rothacs) has been awarded £364,418 over three years from the National Lottery. It will enable the charity to continue its vital work and expand its services to hard-to-reach groups in the community.
The organisation provides free specialist counselling to anyone over the age of 13 living or working in Rotherham who has suffered abuse including domestic, sexual, child sexual exploitation or child sexual abuse.
Rothacs began supporting the community in 2005, becoming a charity in 2017. It is entirely reliant on statutory and charitable funders and this new grant from the National Lottery will enable it to continue its work, along with the support it receives from Rotherham Borough Council, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust. They also provide the Independent Sexual Violence Advocate service for Rotherham funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
Welcoming the news, the chair of the board of trustees of Rothacs, Dr Anne Cooper, said: “This is the third time we have received a National Lottery grant and we are extremely grateful for the ongoing support from the National Lottery Community Fund without which we would struggle to continue to provide this much needed service in the current financial climate.”
Patron of Rothacs, Rotherham MP, Sarah Champion, added: “Rotherham Abuse Counselling Service provides an invaluable service to desperately vulnerable people in the most challenging of circumstances. It is no exaggeration to say their work is both life changing and indeed life saving.
“Their dedicated team have worked tirelessly, providing support, advice and counselling to victims and survivors of abuse. Their contribution to the community has truly been outstanding.”
The funding is from the National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK.