Why don't they leave?

The Problem

Women don’t leave domestically abusive situations because they are afraid for their lives and the lives of their children, afraid of how they will survive with no money, no home, no support - the list goes on and on.

As you may have heard in the news, deaths from domestic abuse have risen from 2-5 a week since the beginning of lockdown. Refuge, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247) has experienced a 49% increase in people calling for help since lockdown.

Simply Counselling CIC was established in 2006 to offer affordable quality counselling for everyone living and working in Plymouth and its surroundings. As specialists in intergenerational trauma we run a National Lottery funded domestic abuse project and help over 40 families a year affected by domestic abuse.

This vital work is possible only because we have fee-paying clients whose money pays for our counsellors, our rent, our bills etc. Since lockdown 75% of these fee-paying clients have paused their sessions for various reasons - lack of privacy at home, losing jobs, looking after children etc.

In order to continue our work we need your help to fill this financial gap during this unprecedented time.

The difference we make

Domestic violence costs the city of Plymouth £10 million a year. We offer at least 60 free sessions to our families, which include:

• One to one therapy
• Parenting sessions
• Women’s support group
• Parent and child sessions, where a family is able to talk about what has happened, maybe for the first time, in order to be able to begin to move forward, learn to trust themselves and each other and learn to self regulate and form nurturing relationships in order to stop the cycle of abuse.

After working with our counsellors, who are specialists in intergenerational trauma, particularly domestic abuse, clients tell us that counselling helps them to:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Feel safer
• Experience better mental health
• Have significantly improved self esteem
• Be better parents able to set boundaries and talk about feelings with their children.

Since COVID-19

Our counsellors have had training in order to be able to work online and we also offer phone sessions in order to:

• Support and empower clients in self care to cope positively with stress and increase the welfare and safeguarding of children.
• Support victims of domestic abuse who have lost their support, leaving them feeling isolated, depressed and anxious.
• Help prevent tolerable stress tip into toxic stress, which would lessen a parent’s ability to buffer the child from trauma, especially if living with domestic abuse.
• Provide a much needed lifeline for children and parents living in very challenging conditions and improve current and reduce future mental health problems.
• Support frontline workers to do their job effectively supporting vulnerable children in schools.

Your Money

We are hoping to raise £5000 over the next six weeks which will enable us to continue to pay rent, staff wages and bills in order to continue to be able to provide this unique service during and after COVID-19. 

The children of Plymouth need you.