To hear from Alison Bourne, CEO of the Dash Charity.

The Chairman said that the issue of domestic abuse was a significant one and that it was an important priority for the Board.

Alison Bourne, CEO of the Dash Charity, explained that the pandemic had increased the workload for the charity. Adult referrals had doubled and child referrals had tripled. However, the level of fundraising had remained the same which meant that the Dash Charity was struggling. With everything being online, it was easier to have meetings but Alison Bourne was worried about staff retention and the amount of pressure staff were under. The charity did not currently have an office space as it was sold to hire additional staff and they were currently looking for somewhere to physically base themselves in the borough. The Freedom programme had continued to be run which consisted of a group therapy programme and allowed the charity to help a number of people at the same time. Face to face meetings were also happening weekly at the Windsor Baptist Church. The programme was unfunded and Alison Bourne explained that she spent a lot of time trying to locate more funding so that the Dash Charity could continue to help victims of domestic abuse.

The Chairman thanked Alison Bourne and all those part of the Dash Charity for all their work during a difficult time. Commenting on the office space which the charity was looking for, the Chairman said that he would take it away and see if the council could assist with locating some office space.

Hilary Hall, Executive Director of Adults, Health and Housing, said that fundraising was the main issue for a lot of charities like Dash. The council was looking to see how they could work to fund projects. Hilary Hall said that she would also work with the Chairman to see if anything could be done about the office accommodation.

Councillor Bhangra joined the meeting.

Kevin McDaniel, Executive Director of Children’s Services, said that the level of domestic abuse put pressure on a number of services within the council. It was recognised how important the work of the Dash Charity was. Recently there had been a pilot scheme of coaches who worked with domestically abused children. This was shown to have a positive impact and the council were seeking funding for this to return later in the year. There was pressure on frontline staff and it was also important to get the wellbeing for staff right.

The Chairman said that domestic abuse was something he had discussed with the government, it was important to pick it up collectively.

Councillor Tisi asked if there was a pattern of domestic abuse increasing with the closure of schools due to lockdown. She also asked if the family hubs could be used to help the Dash Charity.

The Chairman said that it was something that had been considered by officers. One of the challenges was the amount of space and also providing adequate confidentiality.

Kevin McDaniel said that they could discuss with the Dash Charity to see what type of space they needed and go from there. Linking through the family hubs made sense.

The Chairman thanked Alison Bourne for attending the meeting and providing an update on the work of the charity.