Ashleigh's baby only got a present on his first Christmas thanks to the WomenCentre in Halifax.
Staff nurse Ashleigh, then, was homeless, living out of bags and had nothing to give her nine-month-old tot. The support centre looked after her at personal desperate times and helped her back on her feet to rebuild her life.
Now she is appealing for donations to support local women's support centres this Christmas and New Year - a time when demand for their care is always high.
Donations can be left at Halifax Firestation on Monday December 9th- see poster attached. Alternatively, donation boxes are in the canteen and in Starbucks at CRH for people to drop things off.
There is also a radio interview this afternoon (Thurs Nov 28) on Phoenix (96.7 FM) at 3pm to discuss the impact of domestic abuse on not only the victim but their family and friends too.
Here Ashleigh speaks out to help others.
"The WomenCentre is an organisation very close to my heart. Two years ago in December 2017, I was made homeless with my nine- month- old baby. I was living out of bags, staying with friends and family and relying heavily on goodwill. The WomenCentre supported me and offered me counselling, basic essentials such as shower gel and some toys for my son. It is down to them that I had anything to give my son on his first Christmas.
"I want to let people know who may be struggling in unhealthy relationships that they are not alone. That domestic abuse can happen to anyone and often it is insidious and undetected for a long time. They are not crazy. There are people that will believe them, that they need to talk and get help.
"I was attending the WomenCentre on a weekly basis for their Freedom Programme. This is a 12 week course in which you learn about traits in a romantic partner which can be considered ‘’red flags’’, your responses to these red flags, and helps you understand what you experienced in the relationship and somewhat process this.
"I have kept in contact with one lady from the programme, and met another nurse at work who had also attended the programme. The three of us are now firm friends, support each other, encourage and cook for each other and most importantly, we have had the honour of watching each other become stronger, more independent, and grow as individuals and as mothers to our young children.
"It is because of the kindness of The WomenCentre that two years later I have chosen to have my voice heard. I am now in a position to pay back some of the support that I received and pay that forward in the community. I was very lucky in that I had friends and family to support me emotionally, and offer me a temporary place to stay (thank you, Kate and Laura).
“With the tireless work of Ramsdens, I managed to get back into my home in March 2018.
“Some women do not have this privilege, and either leave their family home or are forced out, with nothing. This is why Kate and I have chosen to support Pennine Domestic Violence Group as another extremely worthy cause and collect on their behalf. Rates of domestic abuse increase significantly after the festive season, and therefore these centres will have their already limited capacity, stretched even more.”
See these websites for more info:
https://www.freedomprogramme.co.uk/
https://16daysofaction.co.uk/the-campaign/