SAY Women

Helping SAY Women deliver lifesaving support to young women

At Charis we work with partners who do amazing work to help people facing a wide range of incredibly difficult circumstances. The support they deliver can be life changing, and even lifesaving, in some cases.

Pam Hunter, CEO of SAY Women, explained to us the work the charity does and how the Charis Shop helps her team deliver vital support, “We support young women aged between 16 and 25 who are homeless (or at risk of homelessness) due to sexual abuse.

“We save lives. We help our young women find a purpose in life, find the joy of life and cope with the memories of the trauma they have experienced.”

SAY Women need to deliver tailored support and deliver it quickly. “We could never find an efficient way of helping our young women in their worst times, without food, or deprived of money to heat the house in the midst of winter, for example. The Charis Shop has enabled us to direct donations straight to the young women in the form of supermarket, energy and clothing vouchers, and give the young women a lifeline when they most need it.”

There are specific challenges associated with the situations faced by the young women that SAY Women must be acutely mindful of. “We didn’t want to give cash straight to the young women, for fear of abusive control and the money being spent on something else. The distribution of digital vouchers is a simple way of avoiding these complications.”

Delivering vital support when people need it most

“As a resource worker, I have helped many young women in crisis who need financial assistance because they are struggling to afford food and haven’t eaten in days.

“One young woman had recently lost her job after standing up for herself when she had received unwanted sexual comments from a customer. She had given up her benefits to be able to work and she was also in the process of becoming her mother’s carer which would be a barrier to finding another job.

“The young woman was given supermarket vouchers via Charis to ensure she didn’t go hungry whilst she reapplied for her benefits and took on the role of carer.”

—

“A young woman I supported was struggling to visit our premises for in-person support due to her inability to afford public transport.

“She also confided that she often couldn’t afford to feed her dog for days at a time, and her dog is her only source of comfort. Due to lack of food and energy, the young woman struggled to get out of bed and found it difficult to focus on improving her mental health and living situation.

“Via Charis, we were able to arrange supermarket vouchers for this young woman, so she could fill her cupboards with long lasting food until her financial struggles eased.”

The powerful stories from the team at SAY Women reveal the impact of their work

“We save lives. We help our young women find a purpose in life, find the joy of life and cope with the memories of the trauma they have experienced.”

Pam Hunter, CEO, SAY Women

More Case Studies

Cadent Foundation

Every year, the Cadent Foundation funds a dozen carefully selected charitable partners, each offering a particular specialism or outreach capability, so fuel poverty can be tackled in a holistic way.

Sovereign Housing Association

The grants programme – supports anyone living in a Sovereign home to access the resources and support they need to meet their own goals.

Clarion Ready2Work Scheme

Partnering with Clarion Futures to deliver employment support grants to their residents

Can Charis help your business?

If you need help managing a fund or grant please contact our client services team.

Case Study