Great News For Venus!

Venus are delighted to announce that they have been awarded 5 year funding to work with women and girls through the Big Lottery. The programme is called “Step Together” and will include lots of individual support, group work, training and counselling to women who are often the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.

The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK and this is part of £48.5 MILLION investment nationally. Women and girls are at the heart of more than 60 projects across England which will support them to regain and retain control of their lives, including seven life-changing projects sharing in £3,966,015 across the North West.

Funding is focused on not only providing help for women of all ages faced with extremely difficult situations such as stalking, sexual exploitation, violence against them but also in mentoring and connecting young girls with role models.

Venus will receive £416,863 to work with women who have lost their children to public care or adoption to empower them to manage their own lives. Venus will get involved early when there are further pregnancies and provide support the year after to reduce the likelihood of their new child going into care. Other areas of help will include parenting training, interventions with regards to substance misuse and support to help women to build supportive relationships with family members and friends to build their support network.

The Big Lottery Fund is investing £45.5 million in 63 projects. A further £3 million will be invested in evaluating and learning including supporting the projects as they develop and then sharing details of the work of each so that other women and organisations can benefit in the future.

Geeta Gopalan, Big Lottery Fund England committee vice chair and chair of the funding panel for women and girls said: “Strong evidence from women and girls organisations told us of the increased demand for support, so we’ve been working closely with them over the past year to identify ways that women of all ages can get the right help, information and a listening ear to take control of their lives. We will be working closely with all the projects funded today to share the most successful aspects so that other women and girls can continue to benefit in the future.”

“I am delighted that we can use money raised through National Lottery players to go back into the community and help young girls and women most in need.”