Rates of reported domestic abuse increased by 63% between 2011 and 2018 in London and the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a 24% increase in domestic violence with approximately 100 people getting arrested per day.
Since 83% of high-frequency victims are women, Women’s refuges are in constant use and conditions can deteriorate quickly. For years, we've been partnering with Habitat for Humanity to build, repair and clean homes for families around the world.
Our fundraising activities include a range from bake sales to car washing or overseas trips like we did in November 2019 where 6 of us went to Addis Abbaba in Ethiopia to help with the construction of 4 homes.
For 4 days, we volunteered to help them with the refurbishment of The Claudia Jones Organisation (CJO) in London. On-site work varied from digging foundations, mixing concrete, painting and building benches.
Established in 1982, the organisation provides culturally sensitive, practical and emotional assistance to empower women and families in the London Borough of Hackney and neighboring areas for the past 40 years, where the rate of domestic abuse is even higher than the national average across England and Wales.
About Habitat for Humanity work with CJO
- 28% of the adult population in England and Wales have experienced domestic abuse
- 1 in 4 women in England and Wales will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes
- 7 women a month are killed by a current or former partner
The figures are alarming. Support the organisation offers include one-to-one in-house counseling, peer group support, empowerment activities, as well as family-based activities and children’s holiday programs. To increase the capacity and the quality of services and activities they offer, the CJO has sought to update and refurbish the property.
To carry out this improvement work, CJO has partnered with Habitat for Humanity Great Britain. Our professional, dedicated and experienced construction team at Habitat Great Britain worked in partnership with CJO to assess the current state of the building and to create a design and plan for work. Once the designs were finalized and approved, Habitat Great Britain offered several of our corporate partners opportunities to invest in this meaningful project through the provision of funding and volunteer labour.
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone at Habitat for Humanity, and the Claudia Jones Organisation as well as a huge thank you to all those who have volunteered their time to support our mission to be a #ForceForGood in our local communities.
