Stand with Us Fund

As a supporter of Rosa's Stand With Us Fund, we are delighted to share a case study with you from a group that recieved funding.


Kairos Women Working Together

Established in 1999, Kairos Women Working Together offers trauma-informed, long-term support and advocacy for women in Coventry who are subject to or at risk of sexual exploitation. Hannah Coban, Head of Service Delivery, explains how the Stand With Us Fund supported the service when its future looked uncertain.

What support does Kariros Women Working Together offer? 
We support women with multiple and complex unmet needs who are at risk of, or subject to, sexual exploitation. Our vision as a charity is to see a world where women aren’t experiencing violence, abuse and exploitation. Broadly speaking we support that aim through the provision of emotional and practical support, advocacy, awareness raising, drop-ins, groups and outreach.

There are higher levels of poverty, deprivation and street-based prostitution in Coventry compared to the national average, so we do see a higher level of need. Kairos offer a range of services including a transitional safeguarding service called Feeling Safe that supports those aged 16-25. We also have peer support and a summer programme for our younger women where they try things they may not have had the opportunity to try. That is often the catalyst for them thinking about what they want to achieve in their future. We have a group for women who are pregnant or new parents which we co-facilitate with a specialist substance misuse midwife. We have found this leads to better engagement with Child Protection Services and Child in Need processes and has better outcomes for the women at the end of their pregnancies.

We also have a service for those aged 25 and up. It’s holistic, intensive, practical and emotional support. These women are often in a 24-hour cycle of crisis. They may be involved in street-based prostitution, they might be selling sex for accommodation or to get money for substances and are in very dangerous situations. Those who are involved in street-based prostitution are 12 times more likely to be murdered. We do a lot of intensive crisis work with these women to get them to a point where they are safe, stable and building their resilience. We also undertake advocacy on a national and regional level, have specialist housing and women’s justice services, a drop-in and a women’s only hub.

We have 20 volunteers, 14 staff and a lot going on. We ensure that women feel valued. When she’s ready, we’re ready. In fact, that’s what Kairos means – the critical or opportune moment for change. It’s all about us being there when the woman is ready.

How have the Stand With Us funds been used?
At the time we became aware of the Stand With Us Fund, we weren’t in a particularly strong financial position. A lot of our time was going to fundraising which meant work wasn’t being done elsewhere in the organisation as our priority had to be securing funding to survive and sustain the organisation.

When we received the grant, we were able to pay for a fundraiser. She completed six grant applications, all of which were successful. Over the next three years, we have now secured over £870,000. For every £1 we spent on the dedicated Fundraiser through the grant, we received £43 in return. This secure resource base has done so much for us as an organisation. We were in a position where our survival was at risk. Now we can survive and strategise. We can look at gaps in service provision, training needs and the development of the organisation. The fact that we have three years’ worth of funding as a result of this grant means we can reach as many women as possible and increase capacity. £870k of grants secured through successful applications from our Fundraiser

What impact has the fund had on your service?
I cannot stress the impact this fund has had on our being able to exist. We are becoming a reputable organisation and are receiving more professional referrals as a best practice provider. The Stand With Us Fund has also allowed us to create this more responsive service for women and girls.

Just one of the grants we have gone on to secure has allowed us to extend our Feeling Safe service from starting at 18 to 16. Eighteen is a point at which women are facing multiple transitions. You’re becoming an adult, maybe leaving a residential home or care, going into adult accommodation, maybe leaving school or college, there are changes in health, mental health and benefits systems – that’s the point where society is stripping back support and exploitation can begin. We are now able to help them navigate that transition. We bridge that gap where young girls and women can be exploited and groomed, working with them in Feeling Safe from the age of 16 to 25.

We are the only service in Coventry that delivers such a transitional safeguarding service for young women. That alone is incredible.

Thank you for supporting Rosa's Stand With Us Fund. None of this would have been possible without you.