Nicole Shearing
Playroom at Bournemouth Women's Refuge
Fundraising for BCHA
Story
About the Playroom Project-
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And read below-
"A refuge by definition is ‘the state of being safe or sheltered from danger or difficulty. A physical place that provides shelter.’ However, we believe our service offers much more than just accommodation. Our refuge is somewhere a person can pull back from the world, be inspired and find their people. It also offers a period of reflection, growth, meditation and detox. Through some creative ideas and additional funding, we are in the process of transforming the service into not only a place of safety, but also somewhere that offers the space and time for recovery and healing.
Families stay approximately 6 months at the refuge after fleeing domestic abuse and before moving on to independent accommodation. Despite their stay at the refuge being temporary, we want to make it a safe and nurturing home for residents. Step by step, we have been able to realise changes to the internal and external space of the refuge such as redecorating a communal area separate from the main building and turning it into a comfortable communal lounge, repainting of hallways and doors with colourful paint and much more. Communal space at the refuge remains very limited, making it more important the little space we have is fit for purpose and able to entertain all children and parents at the refuge.
Currently, the play room is not suitable for the different age groups of the children living at the refuge and doesn’t appear as welcoming as the rest of the refuge. Our vision is to redecorate this space with the help of The Modern Nursery design company and volunteer-led group Friends of Bournemouth Refuge. We want to create a welcoming environment for children to play in, young people to do their homework, group activities, one to one support, parents to meet up with each other (when safe to do so), etc.
We need your help to be able to realise this and create a safe, welcoming space for children, young adults and their parent."
2018 marks 50 years since a group of Bournemouth churches came together to address a housing crisis, forming what we now know as BCHA.BCHA provides practical solutions to homelessness, unemployment, social exclusion and the need for more affordable housing across the South of England. To celebrate this amazing anniversary, we are bringing together our local community, companies, partners and supporters in a new campaign - Bchangemakers – which will look back on lives we have helped transform over the past 50 years and forward to new exciting projects and to enable us to continue to offer the wide range of services we provideWe will tell 50 stories about “changemakers” across our communities, celebrate the fantastic work of our people and partners, and equip more people to find a way to make a difference – through partnerships, sponsorship, fundraising, donations and volunteering.The campaign will demonstrate how investing in housing solutions can create opportunities for people across society. Visit www.bchangemakers.org.uk