Pandemic sees increase in those needed domestic abuse support
A family crisis centre on the Powys/Shropshire border has seen a dramatic increase in people needing support.
The Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre which has its 40th birthday this year says it is busier than ever, providing refuge and outreach support for women, men and their children.
Demand for the charity’s services, which have saved and transformed lives, is growing every year and, organisers say has increased during this year’s Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Between 2017-18 and this year, the number of families needing support increased from 205 to 306 and these figures continue to rise.
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Given the growing demand for its services, the charity says it desperately needs more money. It is turning to businesses and the community for support in its landmark 40th anniversary year.
With help from Powys County Council, which made a house available, MFCC opened its first refuge for women and children in 1980. In the late 1990s, a local man, who had been badly beaten by his wife, approached the charity for support, raising awareness that it was not just women that needed the specialist services.
MFCC took up the challenge and, in 2006, opened the first UK refuge for men and their children.
The charity now has 19 employees and is governed and supported by an experienced board of trustees who dedicate their time to making a real difference to domestic abuse survivors.
More information is available on its website at familycrisis.co.uk
MFCC’s refuges provide emergency accommodation for both men and women, which are safe and supported environments, with trained staff providing time and space for adults and their children to make decisions about their futures.
Outreach support is given to adults experiencing domestic abuse who want or need to stay in their homes with confidential, practical and emotional one-to-one support including advice on keeping themselves and their children safe.
