Save Behind Closed Doors

Domestic Abuse Charity forced to close its doors.

Behind Closed Doors is preparing to enter Exit Strategy on 1st December 2009, with a view to cease operating on 28th February 2010. This will leave West and North West Leeds without a comprehensive outreach service and recovery programme for women.

Despite relentless efforts to secure funds to sustain and further develop service delivery, the current economic climate appears to be taking its toll.
Government efforts to support Third Sector organisations through financial hardship have been made available to small charities with a relatively low income or large charities with a much higher income. Behind Closed Doors is a medium-sized charity and therefore it falls through the net and cannot access any of this funding.

Safer Leeds has provided Behind Closed Doors with small amounts of funding from under spend in the past. Whilst this money has bought the organisation time to secure additional funds in times of crisis and has therefore been invaluable, it has never been either a regular or guaranteed source of income. There has never been a continuous commitment to supporting the service and without this it has been difficult to ensure sustainability for the organisation.

Behind Closed Doors recognises the need for sustainability of the organisation. As such, Behind Closed Doors is in the process of establishing a social enterprise, recycling and distributing furniture for the benefit of the wider community. The profit from this would be gift aided into the Behind Closed Doors Charity to support service delivery. This would support BCD to be more independent in that it would be less reliant on trust and public sector funding. A commitment of even short term funding would support continuation of the service until the trading arm has been successfully established.

Behind Closed Doors has provided outreach support to 500 women over the past year and is concerned about the gap in service provision that will be created by the loss of its service delivery. Women experiencing domestic abuse are in need of trust, privacy and this service which covers a whole realm of situations must be allowed to continue to secure the trust and well being of Leeds women and their children.

A VITAL SERVICE TO VULNERABLE WOMEN WILL CEASE AND THE REPERCUSSIONS WILL BE INTOLERABLE

Please show your support for Behind Closed Doors request to Leeds City Council to provide financial support to the organisation in order to continue this important service by signing our petition.


THESE ARE OUR WOMEN, OUR CHILDREN, OUR CITY, AND THEIR SECURITY - MAKE A STAND.