Tara’s Angels - Bev Turner

We were joined, at the beginning of this meeting, by Adrian Wright who runs a financial adviser firm based in Bingham. They are part of St James‘s Place Wealth Management and every year take part in various charity fund raising events. Every September Adrian is involved in a charity trek at various locations. This year he trekked three summits in the Bavarian Alps on the Austrian border and over the last five years has raised £16,000. The money raised goes to the SJP Charitable Foundation and is then allocated to charities based on local needs with an emphasis on supporting children, young adults and mental health. Adrian heard about Tara‘s Angels from Jane Hart and having spoke to the people involved in the charity I was convinced that this is a extremely worthwhile cause run by a group of very committed people. Adrian didn’t hesitate in requesting a grant to support this charity and presented a cheque of £5000 to The Vale of Belvoir Rotary who will ensure that Tara’s Angels are supported with the provision of much needed equipment for women & their families who have been subjected to Domestic Abuse. Indeed the SJP Charitable Foundation was so impressed with Tara’s Angels that they want to put them forward as their charity of the year!

Bev Turner, representing Tara’s Angels, delivered her first public talk on Tara’s Angels and any signs of nerves were soon dispelled as she spoke about the reason for the formation of the group. Bev’s niece died, in 2016, after a brutal attack from her partner and her family decided that they wanted to offer help to other women who have been subjected to domestic abuse. So they formed links with 8 refuges in Nottinghamshire, which at any moment in time can be supporting over 100 families and their children.

Bev shared some chilling facts with Rotarians: every minute 2 incidents of domestic abuse are reported to police in the UK; 1 in 4 women (1 in six men) will be a victim of DA in their lifetime; 2-4 women per week are killed by a male partner or ex-partner; 90% of DA is seen or heard by children; on average a survivor will have experienced 50 assaults before reporting to the police; between 7,000 and 10,000 children in Nottinghamshire are at risk from DA (this equates to at least 3 in every school class).

As well as supporting the refuges and “outreach families” Tara’s Angels is supporting the J9 initiative which offers free training for businesses and staff to respond to survivors of DA. Currently 200 people in Rushcliffe have attended the J9 training and the hope is that more businesses will sign up to cover more of Rushcliffe.

Bev once again expressed her thanks to The Vale of Belvoir Rotary Club for its support to this small not for profit organisation.

A flurry of questions followed Bev’s talk – a true demonstration of the interest that her talk had sparked.            MM