A women’s charity in Chorley in its 40th year has been given a £10,000 boost to improve its centre.
Chorley Women’s Centre is based in a terraced house in the town centre on Clifford Street, and is desperate to add disabled facilities and extra therapy space so more women can use its valuable services.
It is trying to raise £25k in funds through crowd funding, to pay for an accessible bathroom, therapy room and improv the garden area, to make the centre more inclusive.
And the centre, which is a registered charity and run by trustees, was told recently that Lancashire County Council has pledged the £10k from the Lancashire Sport and Culture Fund.
“It’s fantastic news, but we still need to meet our fundraising target or we won’t get that money,” said chair Rebecca Slater.
For Rebecca, the fundraising is personal. She did her training placement in domestic abuse at the centre ten years ago and qualified as a psychotherapist.
Chorley born Rebecca said: “Our counselling here is outstanding. We get clients referred to us from GPs, health professionals, or those who come to use via our website and for many it is life changing. “
She added that demand has increased dramatically and the centre offers a valuable service while the NHS is overwhelmed.
“Since Covid our waiting list has tripled,” she added. “The centre’s fully trained staff deal with everything from domestic abuse, family abuse, sexual violence and mental health issues.
“The cost of living crisis is also a major factor and housing is also a stressful issue for many people”. The counselling services are open to people of all genders.
The centre whose mission is ‘Helping women to help themselves’ provides counselling, drop in sessions as well as relaxation sessions, free yoga, reiki, crafts and various groups and courses. The latest group is Neurokind for neurodiverse women which meets monthly.
It offers a listening ear on a one to one basis or there is a communal area for women to chat.
Rebecca added: “Improving the centre will mean our services are accessible to so many more women, whether that’s for therapy, wellbeing services or volunteering opportunities
“We are always open for anyone to come and talk to us. And we are always on the lookout for people to help – especially manning the phones for fundraising.
The centre is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 10am until 3pm. Visit their fundraising page on the website at https://www.spacehive.com/accessiblecwc
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