London,
17
April
2015
|
10:02
Europe/London

City Bridge gives £31,000 to support adults recovering from childhood abuse

The City of London Corporation’s charity City Bridge Trust has awarded the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) £31,000 to run support groups for adult survivors.

NAPAC, a specialist charity based in Lambeth, provides a confidential national helpline, an email service and support-groups for people who have lived with the trauma caused by abuse in their childhood.

The charity helps survivors to cope with the aftermath of childhood abuse, tackling issues including depression, drug or alcohol abuse, and self-harm etc.

A report by NAPAC (2011) showed that 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused, and 1 in 3 of those children did not tell anyone. NAPAC emphasises the value of counselling, as well as peer support, and this grant from City Bridge Trust will be used to fund NAPAC’s six support groups across London. Each group will be led by professional facilitators who will meet participants for therapy sessions over the course of 12 weeks.

Pete Saunders, NAPAC Founder, said:

“I am delighted that City Bridge Trust has kindly decided to support our work with people who were abused in childhood. The legacy of these crimes is deep and long lasting. This grant will enable us to run support groups which we know from past experience will help many Londoners still feeling the impact of these nasty crimes to move forward with their lives. Feelings of loneliness, shame and guilt often accompany childhood abuse and NAPAC works hard to assure the survivors, the victims of these crimes, that these negative feelings do not belong to them. All the responsibility for child abuse rests with the perpetrators, never the child.”

One 40-year-old abuse-survivor from Lambeth said:

“When I first called the support line, I was so isolated and very deserted, but once I spoke to someone at NAPAC I felt much better about my situation. That first conversation helped me to understand that I should not feel guilty or dirty about what was done to me as a child. I called NAPAC a few weeks later to ask if there was any further help I could have and was invited to join a local support group. I have now finished the 12-week programme and feel so much stronger. If NAPAC had not been there for me, I am sure I would now be dead.”

Jeremy Mayhew, Chairman of the City Bridge Trust, said:

“For some victims, childhood abuse casts a lifelong shadow, influencing their mental health in adulthood, and the way they relate to others. This grant means NAPAC can continue its vital support for the adult survivors with a systematic approach, ensuring that they benefit from a network of supportive people, helping to heal the childhood trauma, and eventually improving their psychological and emotional wellness.”

City Bridge Trust is the grant-making arm of Bridge House Estates, whose sole trustee is the City of London Corporation. It supports London charities and provides grants totalling around £15 million annually. 2015 marks 20 years since the City Bridge Trust was established.

Notes to editors:

Media enquiries: Julie Zhu, Media Officer, City of London Corporation

T 020 7332 3451

E julie.zhu@cityoflondon.gov.uk

About the City of London CorporationThe City of London Corporation has three roles: we support London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration and skills projects. The Corporation supports education - with three independent schools and three City Academies – plus a primary school and the world-renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama. We also help look after key London heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important ‘commons’ in south London. And – with its heart in London’s Square Mile - we also support and promote the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events, research-driven policies and a long-term approach. See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for much more on our uniquely diverse role, including the City of London Police, etc.

The City of London Corporation’s charity, the City Bridge Trust, makes grants totaling around £15 million annually to charitable projects across London. More information can be found at www.citybridgetrust.org.uk.