Cash cuts affect women's project (From Penarth Times)

Cash cuts affect women's project

A VITAL service which helps vulnerable women has had to stop because of lack of funding.

The Vale of Glamorgan Women's Aid can not provide its outreach work for battered women.

Since August the project has lost its ring-fenced funding which paid for an outreach worker.

Vale Council member for Social Well-being Scrutiny Committee, Janice Birch said: "The outreach money is no longer going to be part of the financial agreement between Women's Aid and the Vale Council, but the subject of separate funding, to be bitterly fought for.

"The scrutiny committee have moved it from priority three to priority two in the budget for next year."

The outreach worker went out to schools to teach children about their work and to try to prevent another generation of abusers.

A spokesman for Women's aid said: "We get other funding from the Vale Council, which we are grateful for. But the four years of funding we received was vital for the outreach project.

"It helped women after they left the refuge to acclimatise to life and provided them with support."

She added that hopefully the funding would be forthcoming again next year.

The outreach care is needed so that the vulnerable have a support group to turn to at all times.

A mother and family often need help after leaving a home in a hurry and may have to flee in just the clothes they stand up in.

Vale of Glamorgan AM Jane Hutt said: "Every day in Wales thousands of women and children receive help from Women's Aid.

"I congratulate the Vale of Glamorgan Women's Aid on their continued commitment to this work and urge the Vale Council and other agencies to support them fully in all aspects of their service. Which must include the reinstatement of their outreach work.

"All preventative measures are important so vulnerable women and their families can live without the fear of abuse."