Hull women's charity awarded £1m for new centre
The Preston Road Women's charity which supports vulnerable women and children has outgrown its current premises.
More support is on its way to vulnerable women and children fleeing domestic violence in Hull.
The Preston Road Women's charity has just been awarded almost 1 million pounds from the Big Lottery Fund to help them build a new centre in the city.
They're helping double the number of women and children and have now supported over 5,000 victims.
400 of those this year alone.
The charity has been running a fundraising campaign to raise money towards the cost of their new, purpose-built centre called The Big Purple Build.
The campaign has so far raised over £21,000 for the new centre, also on Preston Road.
Trustee Lisa Hilder said:
“We’re absolutely bowled over by this donation. Our current building – which is actually two houses knocked together - has served us well, but we’ve outgrown it, and need to expand.
"Our services include a nursery, training courses, clinics, a housing service and a not-for-profit legal service, and we will be able to accommodate all of them comfortably and in an environment that is fit for purpose. Crucially, this means we’ll be able to provide more support to vulnerable women and families in Hull.
“The Big Lottery Fund’s donation means we will be able to start building works in the spring and to see our brand new, bespoke centre taking shape will be fantastic. I can’t emphasise enough how delighted and grateful we are to the Big Lottery Fund.
Josie suffered six years of domestic abuse before finally getting help from the charity two years ago and says it's been a lifeline:
"It was very bad and volatile. I was threatened with guns, knives and thrown down the stairs. I was timed when out doing the school run and he would only give me a limited amount of money to spend when I was out doing the shopping and if I went over it, I would be in for it when I got back.
"I wouldn't be here today to tell the story if I hadn't have got the help, I would probably be dead. It's so important that the help is there, it's been a lifeline.
"I would probably have had a breakdown if it wasn't for a centre like this and now they can help thousands more women who have been in a similar situtation.
"I feel like I can now live my life again without fear and the feeling of being stalked and watched. I can go wherever I want, buy whatever I want. My life has totally changed."