Lincolnshire charity awarded grant for new women’s service

The Women RISE (Resilient, Informed, Supported, Empowered) Project has been launched thanks to an award of £343,994 funding to Lincolnshire Action Trust from the Ministry of Justice.

It is part of a £2.8 million grant to women’s voluntary sector organisations in England and Wales to offer new services or interventions for women in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.

This investment has been awarded to 40 women’s centres and charities and four Police and Crime Commissioners to provide specialist help to those who commit lower-level offences.

Women RISE will offer a trauma-informed service for women delivered by women. It will help build resilience by providing information, support and training to empower the women of Lincolnshire.

Chief executive of the charity LAT, Alison Goddard was thrilled and said: “This grant will enable us to develop plans for vulnerable women in Lincolnshire which will be a major step forward.

“The service will be evaluated by the Ministry of Justice as part of its overarching strategy to invest in services for women.

“The Women RISE Project will provide safe and confidential women-only spaces where women can access a range of support, advice and training to equip them for life.

“By developing effective community interventions, more women can be prevented from entering the criminal justice system and avoid the huge impact this can have on them and their families”.

LAT works with statutory and non-statutory agencies to improve the skills and employability of individuals involved in the criminal justice system and prisoners in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and Leicestershire,

as well as their families and children.

Jo Davison, Director of Strategy and Operations for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “This will be accompanied by local research headed by the University of Lincoln, funded by the Police and

Crime Commissioner (PCC) and Probation that will look at women’s experience of the service, the nature of support available, and how effective it has been in making a positive difference to women’s lives.”

Marc Jones, PCC for Lincolnshire, and Councillor Patricia Bradwell from Lincolnshire County Council both reaffirmed their commitment to developing a Lincolnshire whole system approach for women after speaking to a range of professionals from the county council, district councils, health providers, Lincolnshire Police and the charity, voluntary and community sector in Lincolnshire.

Marc said: “We had some really impassioned words from a range of speakers at the launch of Women RISE Project including some real calls to action about bringing partners together across the county to tackle some of these underlying issues that disproportionately affect women.”

The speakers were joined by representatives from Lincolnshire Action Trust, the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner, Lincolnshire County Council, St Giles Trust and the University of Lincoln in presenting a range

of research and information to highlight the need for the argument for a women-specific service.

Referencing the Corston Report, now 16 years old, guest speaker at the event, Lord Bradley, who is a current member of the House of Lords and former Minister of State for Prisons, encouraged those assembled to continue to work toward a trauma-informed, evidence-based women’s resource for Lincolnshire as a priority in reducing the numbers of women facing multiple life challenges from entering the criminal justice system.

Lord Bradley is an advocate for gender-specific services and has been instrumental in driving the national strategic direction on interventions for women in the criminal justice system.

He pointed out that many of the issues they face are manageable and avoidable when resources are allocated thoughtfully and collaboratively.

LAT will be holding briefing events for professionals who are interested in this service in July and August. To find out more about the Women RISE Project, to attend a briefing event on how you can get involved or to offer

the use of premises in Lincolnshire, use the contact form.

Alternatively, you can contact Lincolnshire Action Trust on 01522 806611 or email [email protected].