Stand with us - Our 2021 Winter Appeal
3 November 2021
This year you will see two sides to our Christmas appeal. You will get glimpses behind the scenes of our services, of putting up decorations, carol singing, cookie making, church services and much more. You will get to see the joy that we can bring to people thanks to your kindness.
You will also hear about Julie. You will hear about the abuse she suffered but you will also find out how you can help others like her.
We know that that the subject of abuse is difficult and upsetting to read about, most people try to pretend it’s not happening, and that children like Julie don’t exist. But this is simply not the case. In order to be that change and support for children all over Scotland we need to shine a light on Julie’s story.
Our Children and Families counselling services supported over 900 clients between August 2020 and July 2021. That is 80 separate children and families each month, which works out at 186 hours of counselling each week
Just one hour of counselling costs £50.
Our counselling services not only go above and beyond to help children like Julie, but they also help to create a safe bubble of friends and family around them.
So not only are our counsellors helping Julie, they are helping her Mum, her sister, her friends at school and her teachers. To make sure that children like Julie are supported through all aspects of their lives and help them move on from their experience.
At just 10 years old, Julie came to CrossReach counselling after witnessing her stepfather assault her younger sister who had additional support needs.
Thankfully she was able to receive the support she needed through counselling over 6 months at our Counselling service in Inverness.
In time, Julie’s flashbacks began to fade and she learned that it was understandable to feel this way, as well as learning that what happened was not her fault. She felt more able to ask for help, gradually becoming more settled in school and finally able to sleep through the night without fear or worry.
Police Scotland recorded nearly 63,000 incidents of domestic abuse in Scotland in 2019-2020, a 4% increase year on year and we are yet to see what impact lockdown has had on that number.
Many suffer in silence, but what we at CrossReach want to ensure is we are there to support everyone who comes to us for help in such a horrific situation. No one should have to go through the abuse like Julie experienced.
We need your help so that we can fund our services to be there for more children like Julie. We rely on donations from friends like you to keep our children and family services open.
Will you be a hero to a child like Julie this Christmas?
