An independent charity helping children and teenagers recover after sexual and domestic abuse needs to raise £250,000 each year to allow its vital work to continue.
Imara has helped more than 2,200 children and young people and more than 1,500 families across Nottingham city and Nottinghamshire on their journey to recovery since 2011.
Now the charity says it will be forced to turn away those who need support after experiencing sexual abuse unless it can raise the vital funds. It has launched the Imara Impact Fund to raise £250,000 each year to enable their work helping people to recover from trauma to continue, and is welcoming potential corporate donors to get in touch to find out how they can support the Fund.
Imara CEO Cath Wakeman OBE said: “The reality is that there is insufficient funding for therapy services for children affected by abuse so there is a limit to the length of support we are able to offer, although these children may have complex needs.
“This leads to children who need longer term support being turned away before they are ready for the support to end. Imara does what it can to be flexible and respond to the need, but we don’t have enough funding to do that in every case.
“Our vision is for children to receive the support they need, and this support has to be trauma responsive, available when they are ready and for as long as they need. Without the Imara Impact Fund, this is not possible and society as a whole fails our most vulnerable children and families.
“Often survivors of abuse need time to build trust allowing them to process their experiences at their own pace, without being judged.
“Our survivors tell us that receiving the equivalent of less than one day of therapy isn’t adequate to heal a lifetime of abuse and trauma. Research shows support for families is also crucial, but the current available funding isn’t sufficient.
“The Imara Impact Fund will enable us to continue to take a best practice holistic approach to supporting our clients for as long as they need.”
This holistic approach includes the charity providing creative therapy to children and their families from their base just outside Nottingham city centre; educating and training professionals to understand trauma; supporting safe family members who may have experienced abuse and ensuring young people are not mislabelled with behavioural issues.
Imara plays a vital role in training professionals including teachers, social workers, police and foster carers in understanding and responding to child sexual abuse and offer placements to creative therapy and social work students. Testimonials from police officers praise the role the charity plays in supporting the young people through the criminal justice process.
In one year, the charity delivered: 4,755 hours of therapy, 3,100 hours of sexual violence support, 6,865 hours of direct work with children, young people and their families around the criminal justice process, 1,750 hours working with professionals.
The charity also invites those with lived experience who have been through the Imara service to join a group to share and reflect on their experiences to support others. The charity offers participants paid roles for training delivery and supports their professional development.
As well as advocating for survivors of child sexual abuse, the group has drawn on their lived experience to develop a project for the training of barristers working with young survivors of abuse.
At their base just outside Nottingham city centre, Imara invites children and young people into safe therapeutic spaces where they can meet with a qualified professional to receive support through creative methods like messy play, writing, storytelling and art.
Creative arts therapists also use dance, movement or music therapy in dedicated therapy rooms to improve emotional, cognitive, physical, and social needs.
