THE first sanctuary of its kind has opened to help older victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse to escape their attackers.

Today (Monday, June 1) Redcar-based EVA Women’s Aid (Emerging from Violence and Abuse) opened the property, which is specifically aimed at older women and caters for victims up to 80-years-old.

The charity, based on Redcar’s High Street, already operates two safe houses in the Teesside area geared towards young women.

The new residence will offer temporary housing for up to four women at a time.

Richinda Taylor, chief executive of EVA, said: “Women over 45 have different needs to younger victims and we have found that when they are housed together, the older women tend to take on a maternal role. This can be at the cost of their own personal needs and we want to ensure that they’re not overlooked.

“We’ve worked with women aged eighty and over who’ve been subjected to violence and psychological control all of their adult lives and sadly many women believe that there’s no way out for them. This dedicated safe house, with fully-trained staff on hand, will enable us to help them turn their lives around and break the cycle of abuse.”

Ethical bank, Charity Bank, provided a £55,000 loan to secure the purchase of the property; Northern Rock Foundation’s Fresh Ideas Fund gave a grant of £49,866 towards the deposit for the house and its refurbishment; and the Lloyd’s Bank Foundation has provided £60,000 towards core running costs and a support worker at the premises.

Alistair Jenkins, Charity Bank’s regional manager responsible for North East England, said: “Charity Bank was set up to support projects like this and to back charities and social enterprises working hard to tackle social problems within communities.

"EVA’s innovative approach and expertise supporting domestic abuse victims is being shared with other organisations working in the field so that similar schemes aimed at women over 45 can be opened across the UK.”

Charity Bank provides loans that help charitable organisations to buy property, develop social housing or community facilities or to undertake social projects. When an organisation pays back its loan, the money is used by Charity Bank to lend to another organisation working to benefit society.

Paul Streets, Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank Foundation, said: “We are committed to helping those affected by domestic abuse to make the transition to safer circumstances. We wholeheartedly applaud the work of EVA Women’s Aid and are proud to have awarded a £60,000 grant for their new older women’s centre.”

EVA Women’s Aid can be contacted by calling 01642 490677; emailing info@eva.org.uk or by calling into EVA’s House, 86 High Street, Redcar TS10 3DL.