Suffolk child sexual abuse charity needs funds to clear waiting list

Fresh Start – New Beginnings is celebrating its fifth anniversary on 21st September. The charity, which supports children who have been sexually abused in Suffolk and Norfolk, has helped over 900 children in its first five years.

With 1 in 6 children suffering from sexual abuse, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Fresh Start – New beginnings is currently working with over 200 children but urgently requires funding to enable them to support the 50 children on their waiting list.

Diana Porter CEO and founder of Fresh Start – New Beginnings said: “Our waiting list is our biggest concern. The provision of our services costs £2,500 per child. We’re appealing to local people and businesses to help us to raise the funds to give these 5o children – and the ones who will follow – the help they need. We have some of the highest child sexual abuse rates in the country in Suffolk – and on this milestone anniversary, we’re asking for help from the business community so we can give these children a future.

“There are many ways you can get involved – either by making a one-off donation, supporting us regularly with a monthly donation  taking on the challenge of a lifetime or offering your skills and expertise to help us to grow.”

A father of a child the charity has helped, explains the role Fresh Start – New beginnings played for his family: “You see this sort of thing on the TV or hear about it on the radio but not in a million years do you think it will ever affect anyone you know.  When we found out about our daughter, my wife and I were at our wits end.  Our daughter became withdrawn, she was self-harming, drinking and was a completely different person, she started to have dark thoughts and did not want to live anymore. We tried different agencies, the doctor and school and no one could really help us.  The police woman suggested we try Fresh Start New Beginnings and put us in touch. Our daughter started therapy sessions on a one-to-one basis and we very slowly started to get glimpses of how she used to be.  She started to come back to us.  Fresh Start – New Beginnings gave us back our daughter – and they gave her back her future”.