A STROUD charity that is hoping to win a share of a £20,000 cash giveaway is sharing the story of one of its clients to provide an insight into its vital work.

Stroud Beresford Group is an independent charity that has been offering accommodation advice and support to families affected by domestic abuse for over 40 years.

With two sites, it provides Gloucestershire’s only women’s refuge, alongside a range of other services aimed at preventing domestic abuse or supporting those at risk.

Here we hear about Ali, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

Ali had a difficult relationship with her parents. Her dad had been controlling and her mum had alcohol issues. In her teenage years Ali was sexually assaulted by a family member. Her parents did not support her and told her not to report it, making her feel as though the assault wasn’t real. Ali left home at a young age and met Dan who initially seemed protective and supportive. Ali became pregnant when she was 19 and Dan became increasingly controlling. He stopped her seeing friends and she became isolated.

After their daughter was born, Dan would regularly shout, particularly after he had been drinking. Occasionally this would escalate to threats and physical abuse as he slapped and pushed her and threw items. Dan also spent all of their money. Ali didn’t know what she could do.

Ali’s health visitor recognised that she was withdrawn and scared and helped her to understand how this situation was affecting her daughter and how she could get help. Ali arrived at the refuge in a distressed state – she had lost a lot of confidence and felt she was a bad mum.

After a short time in the refuge, Ali began to gain a sense of perspective about what had happened to her. She was able to talk through her experiences and consider practical options with the refuge’s support worker. She was also supported to access specialist advice regarding her debt and housing situations. Most important of all, she was able to begin gentle, loving routines with her baby and began to build her confidence as a new mum.

Stroud Beresford Group relies on grants and fundraising but a cash boost could be coming as it is in the running for a share of £20,000 from our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation.

During November readers can collect tokens from our newspapers (Stroud News and Journal; Wilts and Glos Standard, and the Gazette) which can then be sent to collection points or posted.

Seven charities are competing for a share of the £20,000.

The last token to collect is published on page 10 of this week’s paper.

Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity – so if your chosen charity collects 50% of all to tokens collected, it will receive 50% of the £20,000.

Collection points can be found at:

  • KnG Convenience, Threadneedle Street, Stroud, GL5 1AF
  • Personal Best- Unit 1, Frogmarsh Mill, South Woodchester, Stroud GL5 5ET
  • Cornflower and Calico- 50 High Street, Stroud GL5 1AN
  • Subscription Rooms Stroud, George Street, Stroud GL5 1AE
  • Woodchester Shop and Post Office, Selsley Road, Woodchester, Stroud GL5 5NQ
  • Honey Trap, Market Street, Nailsworth, Stroud GL6 0BX
  • Tesco, Stratford Road, Stroud