Lighthouse Women's Aid
Pupils presented Lighthouse Women's Aid with a cheque for £1,557 in Chapel this morning and had the opportunity to hear more about the charity and how the donation would be spent.
Katherine Ahluwalia, Training Manager at Lighthouse Women's Aid, thanked pupils for their generous donation and talked about the vital work the charity delivers as well as sharing some good advice.
Lighthouse Women's Aid is based in Ipswich and delivers services to the whole of Suffolk to educate communities to help to break cycles of abuse and to help victims of domestic abuse rebuild their lives. The organisation celebrated their 45th anniversary last year and is one of the four chosen charities the school regularly supports under the Suffolk Community Foundation.
They offer two main services - a refuge centre for women and children who have to flee high risk domestic situations and an advice centre that helps victims with legal, housing and financial advice. They also visit primary schools to deliver their 'Expect Respect' programme that educates young people about healthy relationships. They estimate that they have so far been able to reach 10,000 primary school pupils in Suffolk.
The school's donation will be used to fund further educational visits to primary schools based in Ipswich with the aim of reaching another 1,500 Year 6 pupils.
"1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men in Suffolk said that they have experienced domestic abuse at some point in their life."
Katherine talked about a rise in coercive and controlling behaviour over lockdown and urged pupils to reflect on their own relationships and ask, "are they healthy?" Every relationship from parents, siblings, friends, teachers, coaches, and family, should be healthy and respectful. If not, her advice was to find and speak to a trusted adult, as relationships are important and can have long-term effects on your mental, physical, social and emotional health.
To find about more about the important work this charity does, please visit lighthousewa.org.uk.