Wexford Women’s Refuge has confirmed that it has received a commitment of funding from the Department of Justice.
On Tuesday, July 2, written confirmation was sent to Wexford Women’s Refuge that a much-needed sum of €1.9 million had been secured for operational costs of the refuge.
The Board of Management and Director of Services have been engaging tirelessly in extensive talks since the beginning of the project with Cuan to ensure continuity of the best possible service and support can be given to women and children who avail of our many services during the transition period from our current building, which is unfit for purpose, to the new and beautifully modern, state-of-the-art building.
The anticipation is certainly growing among the board and staff members as we work towards our major expansion and this written confirmation of financial support and commitment from our stakeholders will mean an uninterrupted supply of services in covering our operational costs.
Those involved in the refuge were also delighted to see works carried out recently by the ESB as they connected the electricity to the new building.
The funding in which we have secured will be used to run the new refuge on a day to day basis. Due to the logistics of the building, we are entering into many new service level agreements with various providers.
The allocated funding will cover the costs of kitting out the refuge, which are significant and higher than we anticipated.
We will also use our own funds raised to ‘Kit out the Refuge’ which was initiated by the Director of the Voluntary Board of Management, George Lawlor, and we are very grateful to all who have, and continue to contribute to this.
Most importantly though, the funding received will cover staffing costs, as without our wonderful staff, there is no service.
It is through this ongoing engagement with our stakeholders that Wexford Women’s Refuge is very grateful to be in a secure position where we will not have to fill empty buckets and struggle to meet operational costs.
We would like to thank Cuan for having such confidence in the Board of Management and staff at Wexford Women’s Refuge as we continue to liaise with our stakeholders in ensuring there is a stable and reliable accessibility of services for women and children who have or are experiencing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Speaking on the funding commitment, Chairperson Vicky Clancy-Barron said: “The negotiations around funding began almost a year ago. There have been many meetings and discussions (some heated) around budget plans, service needs, projected costs, revisions and redrafts, all of which have led to this stage.
“It has not been an easy journey. We have worked through the transition from TULSA to Cuan, and we look forward to supporting Cuan to develop the national roll out of refuges across the country.
“Being the ‘Flagship’ project has been challenging and we have identified many areas of difficulty which will see other refuge projects progress much more smoothly into the future.
“While this funding is very welcome, unfortunately we will continue to need to fundraise to cover costs of training for staff, vouchers for clients and other client needs as they arise.
“We will continue to work with Cuan to attempt to resolve some of these issues.
“Ultimately we remain hopeful that a day will come when refuges are no longer needed but until then, the Voluntary Board of Management of Wexford Women’s Refuge remains dedicated to ensuring the provision of an excellent service to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence,” concluded Ms Clancy-Barron.
The Board of Management is also grateful for the tremendous ongoing local support for Wexford Women’s Refuge to date and looks forward to building even stronger relationships with the community as we expand in the very near future.
If you wish to make a donation or set up a fundraising event in aid of Wexford Women’s Refuge, the relative information can be found on our website at wexfordwomensrefuge.ie.
Support for women and children is available from Wexford Women’s Refuge 24/7 and you can contact our staff through our freephone on 1800 220 444, or dial 112/999 in an emergency.
