AN ANDOVER charity has been renamed and rebranded to reflect the broader range of services it now offers.

Andover Crisis and Support Centre has been rebranded as Finding Freedom From Abuse.

The charity also opened a new outreach centre to provide support to the whole of the Test Valley.

Andover Crisis and Support Centre, which has been helping survivors of domestic and sexual abuse move forward with their lives since 1975, announced on Wednesday, November 30, that it is changing its name.

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Stop Domestic Abuse CEO Claire Lambon said: “Stop Domestic Abuse is delighted to support Finding Freedom From Abuse in its name change. This re-branding reflects the organisation’s vision and mission and makes it clear to victims and survivors across the Test Valley region that they are there to support them. 

"Stop Domestic Abuse sub-contracts Finding Freedom From Abuse to deliver comprehensive domestic abuse services in the Test Valley as part of The Hampshire County Council Domestic Abuse commissioned contract covering Hampshire County Council’s 11 districts.  We wish our partner organisation and colleagues at Finding Freedom From Abuse all the best for this new chapter for the organisation and look forward to our continuing partnership.”

The organisation now includes a 19-bed refuge as well as a number of ‘moving on’ properties to help survivors of abuse gain their independence.

It also offers a growing number of outreach services and education and therapeutic programmes designed to support children, women, men and LBGT+ across the Test Valley region to recognise and deal with any experience or fear of domestic and sexual violence or abuse. 

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 has recognised that children who see, hear or experience domestic abuse are victims of domestic abuse in their own right, and the charity has a Child and Young Person Outreach Worker providing support to any child over the age of four.

CEO Donna Cullimore said: “Over recent years Andover Crisis and Support Centre has been hugely successful at offering support at the point of need and providing a place of refuge for those sheltering from sexual and domestic abuse.

"But we recognise that the demand for our services has grown and evolved over recent years. We are also here to offer our services to a wider group of people across the whole Test Valley region and not just Andover. We therefore want a new name and identity that better reflects who we now are and what we offer. Finding Freedom From Abuse brings to life the reason we exist as a charity, and the benefits of what we want to give to those that need our help.”

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Chair of Trustees for the charity, Sue Filmer said: “The vision for our organisation is to provide a life free from abusive relationships, and we feel that our new name enables us to better evidence how we can help survivors of domestic and sexual abuse move forward with their lives. We are incredibly passionate about helping local people prevent and recover from damaging relationships and we are very excited about how our new outreach services and centre can help us do this”.

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For more information about Finding Freedom From Abuse, go to findingfreedom.org.uk or email enquiries@findingfreedom.org.uk or call 03332 422 055