Rochdale Connections Trust receives £75,000 grant

Rochdale Connections Trust will be able to do more to help women in Rochdale facing domestic abuse

Rochdale Connections Trust will be able to do more to help women in Rochdale facing domestic abuse, thanks to a £75,000 grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, to help cover their core costs over the next three years.

Rochdale Connections Trust was founded in 1997 and is the only independent service of its kind in the local area. They have been a lifeline for local people facing domestic abuse for six years, working with more than 200 local women each year to help set them free from the debilitating reality of domestic abuse. The charity helps women stay safe, make plans for the future and develop a support network with others facing similar situations to them.

The grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation will part fund the salary of their Business Development Manager, who will work on the charity’s strategic plans, helping to strengthen them as an organisation and ensure that they can thrive for years to come. This includes offering intensive specialised support around welfare benefits, housing or legal issues, and running support groups for women whose backgrounds mean that they are facing other issues in their lives that make it harder than ever to cope with the domestic abuse they are experiencing.

Bev Place, Business Development Manager at Rochdale Connections Trust said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this award from the Lloyds Bank Foundation. Innovative in their approach, the Foundation’s support will permit us to make a huge difference by increasing our offer to local women and their children who are affected by Domestic Violence and Abuse.

“By investing in our strategic vision to grow services, this funding will simultaneously contribute to helping us to keep women and children safe, aid their recovery and empower them to move on positively with their lives; whilst contributing to the long term sustainability of the organisation, ensuring we can continue to support those requiring our services and interventions for many years to come.”

Paul Streets, Chief Executive, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales said: “As our latest research has shown, there is a quiet crisis facing local authorities. Ever-tighter budgets mean vulnerable people have to rely on the support of local charities like Rochdale Connections Trust.

“They’re not just a ‘nice to have’ - their work is making a vital difference, day in, day out to people’s lives. We’re proud to partner with Rochdale Connections Trust as part of Lloyds Banking Group’s plan to Help Britain Prosper, supporting the costs of their work, strengthening them, and helping raise their voice among the policy-makers and decision-makers their future depends on.”

Rochdale Connections Trust is one of six charities in the North West supported in Lloyds Bank Foundation’s latest funding round, which awarded £448,021 across the region, tackling issues such as homelessness, mental ill-health and domestic abuse.

Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales partners with small and local charities helping people overcome complex social issues such as mental health, homelessness and domestic abuse. With the Foundation’s support, small charities like Rochdale Connections Trust who are often underfunded, under pressure and too often ignored, are able to make life-changing impact where others can’t.