BCWA News
BCWA
All posts
Posted: 9th December 2024
Black Country Women’s Aid (BCWA) has been named the Not for Profit Organisation of the Year at the Black Country Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2024.
The hotly-contested award recognises BCWA as an outstanding non-profit organisation that demonstrates exceptional impact, innovation and commitment to its mission.
BCWA has been transforming lives since 1986. We receive around 13,000 requests for help a year. Since 2000 we have grown from 8 to 225 employees and a £200k income to just over £8.5m in FY 22/23.
Through our unique ‘one front door’ approach, we increase peoples’ chances of long-term recovery by tackling the multiple challenges they face. We support through safety planning, accommodation provision, counselling, advocacy, navigating the criminal justice system, health/wellbeing, rebuilding healthy relationships and accessing benefits, employment, education and training opportunities.
We place victims’ voices at the heart of our work and we constantly develop our services in response Black Country communities’ needs, supporting women, men and children who have experienced domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking and modern slavery.
After BCWA support, 78% of our clients felt safer, 76% felt more able to cope and 73% told us that their emotional and physical wellbeing had improved.
Our spaces transform lives, create choices and provide new chances in life. Patricia* lives in a BCWA refuge with her two children. When the family first arrived Patricia’s daughters were reticent about leaving their flat and joining others in the refuge’s shared spaces. However, now they love to play in the garden and enjoy the family activities that staff organise regularly. Patricia was impressed by the huge effort that everyone at refuge made to make Christmas special, and her children are reassured that Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairly still know where to find them.
Patricia is positive about her future. She would like to retrain as a classroom assistant or a domestic abuse advocate and write about her experiences. Her children have a special name for the refuge which she’d like to use as the title of her book: “The Magical Place.”
*Name has been changed
BCWA CEO Sara Ward said:
“We know that, every day, there are people of all ages in the Black Country who are living with the impact of their abuse. We never take anything for granted when connecting with victims and work hard to provide the support they need.
“Being recognised in this way is a testament to the bravery of our clients, resilience and commitment of our staff, the innovation and dedication of our trustees and the continuing support of corporate partners, individual donors and the wider community. We couldn’t do what we do without them.
“I’d like to thank the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and its members for recognising us with this coveted award. With the Chamber and its members’ support, we will continue to raise awareness of domestic abuse among local businesses and help their staff to support colleagues in the workpace who may be experiencing trauma and abuse.
I know the fantastic work that the other finalists and indeed the whole Black Country voluntary and community sector do, and it is an honour to win in such a competitive field.”