"Thank you for the kindness you showed to me and for being there when I was very low. Don’t  Know what I would have done without you. I can’t thank you enough you have been a god send."

These are challenging times for voluntary groups and charities. This in itself is never “news” but this time we are really struggling and we have used up nearly all of our reserve just keeping things going. Funding is still very thin on the ground for next year as many organisations are still so unsure of their own budgets that they are not in a position to offer contracts or make grants.

At a time when Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse is heavily reported in the news, we are seeing dramatic rises in case numbers – without any funding coming along to help us meet that need. And we know that this is still the tip of a large iceberg.

"Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough to say how much you have helped me through the last 15 months I really don’t believe I would have got through everything If it wasn't for your support and understanding most of all thank you for not judging me about things I had previously done. You made me believe I can trust some people."

What do we want?

·         We want to stabilise the rest of this year – we need £40,000

·         We want a new centre established in Liverpool with space for the ISVA Team, counselling spaces and a training area – we need £50,000

·         We want to build on the existing Children’s Team with child friendly spaces and extra children’s workers – we need…….well the sky is the limit. We want a Children’s Service that allows for early disclosure so we can ensure those children are safe and cared for and to stop people living their whole lives in hiding, in pain and in fear of what will happen if they speak out.

·         We want a Sefton Centre that mirrors our Hoylake Centre – a sustainable space with a holistic therapy centre and shop to give long term stability –  we know we will need capital investment to succeed - £20,000 would be good

·         We want trainers, training tools, we want to offer courses and training to vulnerable women, we want – oh so many things

So what are we going to do about it?

£100,000 in 100 days

From 20^th October 21014 until 27^th January 2015 we want you and your supporters to spread the word.

WHO FOR

For YOU – yes YOU – because everyone knows someone who needs RASA services – it’s just that they may not have told you yet. Imagine your mother, sister, aunt, granny, brother, uncle, son or daughter was raped or abused and needed support from a specialist service. Where would you go if we were not here?

"There are no words to say how grateful I am to you. Because of you even in the darkest times I have hope that I can continue you are trely an earth angel, and I wish you all of the good that life has to offer"

STATISTICS AND MORE

In 2010/11 The RASA Centres saw

·         887 clients, the youngest was 8, the oldest was 73

·         790 were female, 97 were male. 62 were aged under 18

"Thank you for listening about my worries etc relating to the incident and thanks for being there."

In 2011/12 The RASA Centres saw

·         1274 clients, the youngest was 4 and the oldest was 81

·         1135 were female. 139 were male. 139 were aged under 18

In 2012/13 The RASA Centres saw

·         1410 clients, the youngest was 5, the oldest was 92

·         1254 were females, 156 were male. 139 were under 18

"Thank you for all you have done for me your patience and kindness was brilliant. I will miss my sessions with you."

  In 2013/14 RASA Centres saw

·         1594 clients, the youngest was 4, the oldest was 91

·         1367 were female 226 were male. 166 were under 18

"Thank you for your time and most importantly thank you for giving me back many many happy childhood memories I’d forgotten I had they now out way the bad. Thank you."

Client numbers increase year on year.

In the first half of 2014/15 we have already seen 1182 clients (584 Liverpool residents). The youngest client is just 3 years old, the oldest is 74

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Sexual violence can affect anyone at any time in their life. When it does what you ned most is someone to listen, someone to believe you, someone who can help you cope with what has happened and then help you to recover from it and move on with your life.

RASA does this with one to one assessments and individual care packages of advocacy, counselling and support. We can offer help with reporting to the police if that is what you choose to do. We can give qualified and professional support through the criminal justice system – or support and help in understanding why your case has been discontinued or not actioned.

And whether you report or not, RASA will give you the individual support that YOU need – assigning a counsellor suited to your needs and timetable. We can refer you into other appropriate agencies. We can run group support. We are here for you.

But to run such a service costs money – for the whole of RASA, around £500,000 per year - for Liverpool approximately £200,000 each year. RASA Liverpool has outgrown our existing premises. We need to grow. We need to offer specialist services for children. We have been funded in part through Children in Need to do this – but we need suitable and effective premises as we see the children’s service developing and growing in the years ahead.

We want to be able to run prevention courses, showing and teaching young people how to stay safe and to recognise abuse.

We need a specialist service for men. We need women only space for our female clients. And we need space to run groups and to hold training courses in sexual violence awareness and in accredited training for sexual violence workers.

At a time when funding sources are running dry, statutory authorities are making drastic cutbacks and reducing service deliveries, when NHS resources are stretched to capacity and mental health services have waiting lists our clients could not endure, RASA needs support more than ever.