Birmingham and Solihull Women's Aid Recovery Funding (360G-CR-4908512)

COVID19 -The rise in domestic violence incidences is well reported, and our Helpline has been ringing constantly. We saw a significant rise in calls after lockdown was extended, especially for women seeking refuge, and it has continued to rise since. We are reaching some of the most vulnerable women in our society ? 54% are from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities. We anticipate that demand will continue to rise rapidly, and we are expecting a surge in demand for support as the lockdown eases. We would therefore like to request funding to support interpreting costs and to purchase laptops to enable us to increase capacity of our new Web Chat service.Interpreting CostsWe have a strong track record of reaching and engaging BME communities, and we are proud that women recommend us on to our networks. We are known for our language specialisms and our cultural sensitivity. Our staff offer 19 community languages, but we lack the capacity and language specialisms required to meet demand. It is traumatic for any woman to talk about her experiences of abuse but especially so if she faces language barriers. We achieve significantly better outcomes for BME women and their children if we are able to meet their language needs. Communication is vital given that women are at their greatest risk of death or significant harm when they seek to end an abusive relationship. By supporting language and communication needs, we empower women to seek and access help. By listening to and understanding women?s experiences, we help women know their options, and give them the space and time they need to make their own decisions, supporting them to recover, moving forwards positively. This month alone, we have supported women who spoke Marshallese (Marshall Islands in Micronesia in the North Pacific Ocean), Mandinka (West African ? including Gambia, Guinea, Liberia), Vietnamese and Icelandic. In Birmingham, these communities are small but the need for dedicated language support is great, because unlike languages like Punjabi, they are hard to come across in terms of interpreting support.Web Chart CapacityThree weeks ago, we started a new Web Chat service in direct response to women?s needs because of the CV19 crisis. Due to lockdown, women cannot talk freely as perpetrator and other family members are in the house, making it unsafe to call or speak to our Helpline. Web Chat also supports women who may have separated, so are safe to call and talk, but just don?t have the time to because they are trying to home school their children, look after their children and/or look after vulnerable family members. Web Chat is particularly useful for deaf women. (We also use text relay on Helpline.) Our Helpline is ringing constantly. If we are unable to take a call, women do not leave a message, because it is often unsafe for them to do so. We have a pool of highly skilled, long-term volunteers who are willing and ready to support our Web Chat service to meet demand. We would like your support to purchase laptops so that they can safely deliver this service from their homes. This additional capacity is especially needed as we have extended our hours to cover weekends and Bank Holidays in order to meet demand. All data protection, safety and service user confidentiality policies and mechanisms will be in place.