Charity recieves £10,000 for 'frontline' work

A Wirral charity has been awarded £10,000 in acknowledgement for their frontline work with survivors of psychosexual trauma, child abuse, racial abuse, domestic violence and bullying.

The Lantern Project, a Wirral based charity set up in 2003, has revealed to JMU Journalism that the donation from The Big Lottery Funds Awards for All programme shall contribute to the production of an essential DVD.

This DVD, which is thought to be completed by early April, hopes to provide victims with integral information about how to go about disclosing their abuse and how they can start to receive treatment and counselling.

Graham Wilmer, author of Conspiracy of Faith and founder of The Lantern Project, said: “Some of our clients come to us when they are in a very poor state indeed; they often feel that their lives have utterly collapsed. Almost immediately, we make contact with their GP and work in conjunction with many organisations to do our level best to help pick up the pieces.”

“On average, we receive around five new referrals a week. Treatment is a long, ongoing process and our work is not done until our survivors feel better.”

According to the charity, it is an unfortunate fact that in some cases, victims of these types of trauma often turn to alcohol and drugs as a form of escapism.

Mr. Wilmer said: “We currently support around 1,000 people.
If problems of this nature are not identified and effectively treated
 through therapy, these traumas often manifest and escalate into
other problems in later life.”

David Williams, 50, co-founder of The Lantern Project said: “We are a charity which receives all funding from donations and applications. It has been a really tough financial time due to the economic climate. Many MP’s, including Harriet Harman, have supported and acknowledged the good work that we try to do to help survivors of abuse on the frontline.”

But the work of The Lantern Project does not stop there. A primary objective is still to empower people to become survivors of abuse, rather than victims. By tackling this perception, then the healing of the psychological scars left behind by abuse can begin.

The Lantern Projects funding this month has come from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All Programme which this month, has awarded a total of 78 projects across the North West region a chunk of a total £676,860.

Helen Bullough, Big Lottery Fund Head of the North West region, said: “Funding from the Awards for All programmes can have a huge impact on local communities and I hope that these successful projects inspire others to get their applications i

"Our work is not done until our survivors feel better"

-The Lantern Project