‘HEARTBROKEN’ staff at Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC) have said its counselling waiting list for new referrals for those aged 13 and over will remain closed amid claims of a funding cut by the city council.
On January 31, the Charity, which relies on funding from a range of sources announced it would be closing its waiting list.
But the council said it was not cutting the service, but instead decided, rather than renew a contract which was not addressing increasing waiting lists, it would look to provide a new, system-wide improved approach.
Chiefs have claimed since this initial decision was taken it has not received sufficient funding to be able to reverse this decision.
The charity provides specialist counselling, independent sexual violence advice and advocacy to over 1,500 local adults and children every year who are struggling with the impacts of sexual abuse.
A quarter of CRASAC’s clients are children.
Natalie Thompson, CEO of CRASAC said: “CRASAC is committed to providing the best possible service to our clients.
“The demand for our services rises year on year and we currently have a list of almost 500 people waiting to access our specialist counselling support.
“Due to the sudden decrease in funding, we are unable to continue operations at the current level and have taken the difficult decision to close our waiting list to new clients until a sustainable funding resolution can be met.
“This has not been an easy decision to make, and leaving survivors without the specialist support they need is heart-breaking.
“But we cannot ethically continue to accept referrals knowing they could be waiting up to 18 months to get the help they need.”
A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “We will ensure services continue to be delivered and are currently looking at alternative ways of doing this as a priority, with CRASAC continuing to offer one-to-one therapeutic support.
“This service is also available from qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, whether privately or through the NHS.
“Meetings have already taken place where CRASAC have been present and commitments were made to work together to map out the different routes into different types of support.
“CRASAC also has multiple sources of funding and several other contracts.
“We aim to help the system (including CRASAC) to develop ways of working that means individuals are signposted to the most appropriate service for their needs and do not have to wait for an unreasonable length of time on a waiting list.”
