Round 3 Grantees For Covid-19 Response Fund

Rosa is proud to announce the third and final round of specialist women’s organisations who will receive grants from our COVID-19 RESPONSE FUND (SMALL GRANTS). This fund aims to support the immediate needs of specialist women’s organisations who often miss out on funding to more mainstream and gender-neutral organisations. The following 23 organisations were awarded grants totalling £194,709.

Refugee Women’s Association (RWA) empowers refugee, migrant and asylum-seeking women by standing up for their rights and ensures they receive fair and equal access to services, facilities and provisions. The grant will fund staff, volunteer and running costs to address the dual impact of Covid-19 – an increase in demand and loss of funding and capacity.

In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, First Step provides accessible volunteering, learning and confidence building activities to marginalised women from the local Black and minority ethnic/refugee and asylum seeker communities. Funding will help the team to reach isolated women who are experiencing poor mental health in response to Covid-19.

Hillingdon Women’s Centre offers trauma-informed services to help women navigate their lives beyond an immediate crisis, providing services such as counselling, solicitor advice, and wellbeing workshops. This grant will fund a case worker for women who are victims of domestic abuse, providing more in depth support and advocacy after Covid-19.

Migrant Family Support helps women, and particularly African women, who are facing family difficulties through education on UK law and rights, therapeutic services, and holistic support around domestic violence, marriage, and parenting. This grant will fund a bereavement support group and provide 1-2-1 counselling to enable women to grieve while social distancing is in place.

In Plymouth, Mums4aChange CIC supports the emotional wellbeing of mothers in challenging circumstances who have children with additional needs by offering coaching, creative tools and group work. The grant would fund two 12-week Zoom support groups for 32 mums of children with additional needs who are struggling with the impact of Covid-19.

From its base in Rhyl, North Wales Women’s Centre offers a safe place for women to access information, support, advocacy and training on issues relating to health, wellbeing, and work. The grant will part-fund the salary of the Operations Coordinator who has played a pivotal role in the organisation’s adaptation to lockdown and in preparing to reopen the centre.

For the past 21 years, Positive Steps Community Centre has been building women’s skills, confidence and self-esteem in the wider mid-Ulster area. Funding will enable the team to continue offering support to vulnerable and marginalised women in the community, mitigating for loss of funding due to Covid 19. 

Sahara Project works with women in culturally and linguistically sensitive ways, supporting Black and minority ethnic women with free advice, advocacy, counselling, education and volunteering opportunities. The grant will pay for the costs to employ an additional sessional worker to deal with an increase in demand for advice over the phone.

Grassroots intercultural organisation Skills and Training Network empowers destitute Black, Asian, minority ethnic and refugee women through employability, personal development, and education services. The grant will fund staff, volunteer, equipment and materials costs, which will enable the team to introduce a helpline and implement changes to its service.

In Liverpool, Swan Women’s Centre takes a holistic approach to women’s mental health, offering counselling, befriending, courses, and more – and has been doing so for more than 30 years. This grant will fund three part-time counsellors over six months to provide talking therapies to meet the significant additional demands placed on this service since Covid-19 began.

Eradicating period poverty and promoting period equality is the aim of The Homeless Period – Wolverhampton. The team collects and distributes menstrual products, toiletries and new underwear across the city, and supports 500+ individuals per year. This grant will help to distribute menstrual products and toiletries, and fund operational overheads. Follow on

Rubies supports more than 200 girls across Middlesbrough and neighbouring Redcar and Cleveland, many of whom encounter adverse childhood experiences such as domestic abuse, mental ill-health, substance misuse and neglect. This grant will fund a project coordinator to provide a paid, part-time work placement to a volunteer.

Rotherham Mothers For Justice was set up to support the silent victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE) arrests in Rotherham and offer a much-needed sanctuary. Funding will equip families with tablets to support them with digital access to advocacy workers, to help combat isolation as a result of the pandemic.

Dynamic Support Greater Manchester helps to ensure women’s wellbeing, safety and advancement, particularly those from BAME communities encountering domestic violence, financial difficulties and loneliness. Funding will help meet the immediate needs of women and girls who are experiencing stress, mental health issues and isolation.

Founded in 1992, Enfield Saheli empowers women to participate fully in social, cultural and civic life. The friendly team speaks South Asian languages and supports women in accessing local services, benefits, healthcare and employment. The grant will provide emotional support to those who are isolated, vulnerable and marginalised, and suffering with mental health issues exacerbated by Covid-19.

Hull Sisters provides a range of confidential advice and support services to enable minority and Black women to gain knowledge and confidence. The grant will fund 1-2-1 outreach support, food and household items for women experiencing increased isolation and financial hardship because of the pandemic.

The team at KairosWWT seeks to increase the life-chances, choices, and wellbeing of women caught up in prostitution, affected by or at risk of sexual exploitation in Coventry. Funding will enable the organisation to purchase tablets for support worker staff to increase their remote working capabilities, supporting vulnerable women through Covid-19.

Improving the quality of life of minoritised women, families and communities is the Kosmos Centre’s overarching aim. Funding will increase the organisations overall capacity to provide free legal advice to support families to claim benefits, immigration concerns, rent and council tax issues. It would also support isolated elderly people dealing with loneliness and bereavement.

In Northern Ireland, La Dolce Vita Project gives therapeutic support to those impacted by domestic abuse and sexual violence, empowering victims through counselling, and self-esteem and confidence workshops. The grant will support the training of new volunteers and employ counsellors to reduce the waiting times, giving survivors quicker and easier access to the support they need.

Community-based women’s organisation South Liverpool Domestic Abuse Services provides services that address domestic abuse, offers volunteering for women, and raises awareness of domestic abuse in local areas. The grant will fund existing staff posts and general running costs which will enable the organisation to continue to provide its vital services.

The Feel Good Women’s Group is a community based group that provides health and wellness activities for women in the South-side of Glasgow. Many of those who attend the group are single mothers who have experienced depression, anxiety or violence. This grant will support the delivery of exercise classes and wellbeing sessions to women from BAME backgrounds.

The Growing Club CIC provides hands-on pre-start-up and start-up training for socially disadvantaged and marginalised women, as well as subsidised business growth programmes for female-run micro-businesses. This grant will fund post lockdown costs, including getting the training space deep cleaned and adapted for Covid-19 and continuing to provide Zoom sessions.

Based in Bradford, the Muslim Women’s Council seeks to promote the interests and needs of Muslim women, with the view to promote the socio-economic status of the Muslim community. The grant will help to adapt the organisation’s remote helpline support service to ensure it continues to be available for isolated Muslim women.

Croydon-based GoodAz Gold Events is a specialist BME women-led organisation that informs, educates and empowers survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Funding requested to provide 1-2-1 support for new and existing female BME survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence to help them deal with issues such as family, housing, and employment.