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Women and girls: The Pathway Project – where it all began

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Today we hear from Kathy Coe, CEO of Pathway Project, about the personal experience of domestic abuse that lead her to set up a charity that now supports over 2000 people a year to enjoy a life free from fear. 

It was 11pm, my children were sitting upstairs on their beds with their night clothes in carrier bags. They knew we may need to leave very quickly. I wanted to give my husband an opportunity to finally do the right thing and leave the house so we could have somewhere to live. After seven years of abuse and violence we were scared, we were exhausted and we were about to find ourselves suddenly homeless.

Kathy-Coe-BIG-Blog-3

Kathy Coe

The request to leave was met with scorn and more abuse. Our only option was to fight our way out of the front door and we managed to get into the car and lock it before he reached us. Friends gave us somewhere to stay whilst we got everything sorted out practically, but emotionally it took a lot longer. However, out of all that pain and anxiety came a new start. Not just for us, but for thousands of other families that Pathway has supported through their time of crisis.

Facing a life threatening and life changing experience is a great motivator and gave me a passion and drive to do something that would make a difference to others. I thought I was going to set up a small refuge and that I would dedicate myself to doing that. It took seven years to set up that first refuge but it wasn’t going to stop there.

Today I am the CEO of a charity that supports over 2000 people a year. We offer a range of holistic services that would have seemed unimaginable when I needed help. Our support ranges from refuge and helpline to counselling and group training, and from children’s and outreach services to drop in and legal clinics.

I am so very proud of this charity and most of all, the wonderful team we have here.  Pathway saves lives. Our team is totally committed to working with domestic and sexual abuse victims. We work with the immediate crisis, but we also make a long-term difference by helping people to find hope, and a future. We turn victims into survivors.

Sadly the need for our services has continued and grown but our focus is always on people not numbers. It is stunning to see how many women we have supported, but even more profound is to know the names, and the situations those women and their children have had to face. Behind every number is a real person who has faced the most devastating fear, and loss, but who has found the strength to keep going and to find a new way through life, and that has been a constant inspiration to all of us.

It is almost 25 years since we registered as a Charity and we have been there day and night for people who need help. With the support of our Big Lottery Fund grant we look forward to reaching our 30th anniversary and being there for many more women and girls.

If you’d like to know more about the work of Pathway Project, please visit their website or follow them on twitter

 



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