WOMEN’S ONE STOP SHOP IS FIRST FOR BLACKPOOL
27 Jul 2010
Blackpool Women’s Centre will open its doors for the first time on Monday 2 August to provide a one stop shop for women in the town.
The centre, the first of its kind in Blackpool, will be run by a team of women, to provide a range of services exclusively for women.
Blackpool Women’s Centre aims to help women with a range of issues, including parenting, finances and debt, employment, education, training, life skills, abuse and domestic violence, health, offending and accommodation.
Any woman facing problems can access the centre in Edward Street for support and information and a drop in service will be available. The town centre location makes it easily accessible by public transport and telephone advice will also be available.
The centre is run by Blackpool Advocacy in partnership with Addaction and a number of statutory organisations which are on the project’s steering group including Lancashire Probation Trust, Lancashire Constabulary, Blackpool Council and the National Offender Management Service.
The focus will be on identifying issues which can lead to women offending and providing early intervention which in turn prevents crime, develops safer communities, and improves the health and well being of individuals and their families.
Charley Wilkinson, Women’s Centre Coordinator said:
“We’re delighted to be able to provide such a wide range of services under one roof in Blackpool and we welcome the enthusiasm of organisations in the town who want to take part in the centre. This partnership between the statutory agencies and the third sector is underpinned by a firm commitment to working together as true and genuine partners, and will provide a new and innovative way of meeting the needs of our clients.”
Ian Phillips, Lancashire Probation Trust’s Area Director for Blackpool added:
“We are currently working with 178 women offenders in Blackpool, many of whom are also victims of crime, and the range of problems they can present are difficult for one agency to manage. We will be working from the centre alongside other services to provide a co-ordinated response which will be a cost effective way of addressing individual need and reducing crime and anti social behaviour. We want women to make a positive contribution to their communities and developing employment skills and responsible lifestyles are essential if they are to achieve this.
“This is a great opportunity to be able to work with a number of different agencies to provide individual packages to support women.”
The centre will be open on Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm for women to access the services.
