The Community Foundation for Staffordshire & Shropshire is helping people affected by domestic abuse to rebuild their lives by supporting community-based services that respond to both emotional and practical needs.
Through funding awarded to Glow, the Community Foundation is enabling customers across Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and surrounding areas to take meaningful steps towards recovery, stability, and independence after abuse.
Glow supports people who are experiencing domestic abuse, helping them move towards a life free from fear and control. Central to this work is the Recovery Hub, which provides a safe and supportive space where customers can begin to process what they have experienced.
Through one-to-one support sessions and wellbeing activities, customers are supported to understand and make sense of their experiences, recognise that the abuse was never their fault, rebuild their confidence, and reconnect with who they are, enabling them to move forward with their lives.
Amina came to Glow after leaving an abusive relationship that had lasted more than 30 years. Throughout the relationship, her ex-partner was extremely controlling, particularly around food. He dictated what the family could eat and how it was prepared, and Amina was forced to cook meals on a camping stove for the entirety of the relationship.
Food became another way control was exercised, stripping away choice and independence in even the most basic parts of daily life.
After leaving the relationship, Amina joined Glow’s Recovery Hub, where she began to recover from the emotional impact of abuse while also facing practical challenges, including the rising cost of food.
Thanks to support from the Community Foundation for Staffordshire & Shropshire, Glow was able to provide practical help to Recovery Hub customers who told us they were struggling to afford food essentials. This included the provision of slow cookers and recipe books, offering a cost-effective way to prepare nutritious meals during a time of transition.
For Amina, the support made a lasting difference. With her slow cooker and recipe book, she was able to prepare healthy, affordable meals, but more importantly, it represented a new sense of freedom. For the first time in decades, she could choose what she ate and how she prepared her food. These small choices marked a powerful step towards independence, dignity, and healing.
Stories like Amina’s show how the Community Foundation for Staffordshire & Shropshire is helping people rebuild their lives by investing in local organisations that understand and respond to community need. By supporting Glow’s Recovery Hub, the Foundation is helping to restore confidence, control, and hope for people affected by abuse.
Need support?
Get in touch with Glow today, help is available and you don’t have to face this alone.
Call 0330 094 5559 or email [email protected]
Want to help?
Find out how you can support our mission to end relationship abuse and help change lives across our communities at www.findtheglow.org.uk
