December 14, 2023 | Laura Murphy
It changed my life
We've had a busy 2023 helping other women deal with the continuing fall out from Covid and the cost of living crisis. How have we done that?
“The course has changed my life, I was too scared to leave the house before and it was a huge deal for me to even walk through the door, and now I can walk around town confidently and live my life again. I can’t thank you enough.” Beneficiary
It’s feedback like this that makes us so proud to be volunteering with WayfinderWoman. And others think we’re doing a good job too. At the very end of 2022 we were very fortunate to receive a major grant from the National Lottery to expand our hub service and a smaller grant from Garfield Weston to run workshops. We’ve had feedback from the National Lottery rep for the south-east coast who is very happy with we’re doing as a result of the funding. Both the National Lottery and Garfield Weston have funded us again for 2024. We want to thank them both.
So what has been happening? In 2023, over 240 women attended our courses or events which helped to increase confidence, skills and address societal barriers, compared to 118 in 2022. Thanks to increased Hub opening hours the number of women coming to the hub also grew – 235 compared to 187 in 202). Over 42 Peer Support 121 appointments were made compared to 12 last year.
It’s a reflection of how hard the year has been for many of the women who come to us and, because funders want to know how things like the cost of living crisis and Covid have affected people to make best use of the money that’s raised through the Lotto, for example, we’ve told them how women are falling through the net as statutory services struggle to cope.
“Everyone is so understanding, empathetic, supportive, a great bunch and I appreciate every contact I’ve had.” Beneficiary
There is a positive story too. Three of our hub volunteers, thanks to the training and support we provided, found employment in the summer. We’re always looking for volunteers and so welcomed those who joined us.
“Earlier this year, I found myself somewhat “lost”, having been made redundant last year and a couple of bouts of unsuccessful employment. One day on my way to the job centre, I stumbled across Wayfinder Woman and from that moment, I felt encouraged by how much support the charity could offer.” Volunteer
As we move into and through 2024 let’s do our best to keep that positivity. And when you have the time, please think about how you might be able to help us, and by doing so help those who don’t have the confidence to ‘step outside the door’.
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