Reigate and Banstead Women’s Aid
RBWA is a refuge for women and children fleeing severe domestic abuse. We are a small, independent charity and have been in operation since 1984. We accommodate eleven women and twenty-four children at any one time. They stay with us for six months while we support and enable them to re-start their lives free from abuse. The families come from across the UK and have usually left their homes at a moment’s notice. Due to the severity of the abuse they have suffered they have to come a long distance away from their homes for safety reasons. This means that they are leaving behind all of their support networks and everything familiar to them. We help them rebuild their lives which have been decimated by abuse. We work with the women and children intensively through therapy, practical support and emotional support. RBWA provides a lifesaving and life changing service. After six months we will have found the families new accommodation and we will carry on supporting them in their new homes for as long as they need. With funding from the Wisley Foundation we have been able to renovate our accommodation which has meant that families feel more at home in a welcoming environment. We have also been able to give each new family a complete package of all the practical items they need when they arrive. As the families often arrive with nothing but the clothes they are wearing this has been truly appreciated. We are currently in the process of opening another refuge and once again the Wisley Foundation have stepped in to help.