News and views
BWA receives Community Mental Health and Wellbeing grant funding
Border Women’s Aid has been working hard to source funding to strengthen our service so we are delighted to receive an award of much-needed funding from the Borders Community Action (BCA) Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.
It is a real struggle in the current climate for essential work like ours to compete successfully for grants and other sources of funding, so we are extremely grateful to BCA for looking at our application and believing in us!
Our allocation of £40K over 2 years forms part of wider national investment in early intervention and community support for mental health, social connection and tackling loneliness which we will deliver via our Outreach Service.
BWA launches Pledge Campaign
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the start of the global UN 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. To mark this, Border Women’s Aid is excited to launch the ‘Do Your Bit to Stop Domestic Abuse in the Scottish Borders’ Pledge Campaign.
BWA is inviting people across the Borders to stand together, speak out and show their support for women and children affected by domestic abuse. Created and led by Border Women’s Aid, the campaign gives everyone a way to take part, to show they care, and to help build a community where abuse is never ignored.
Test of Emergency Alert System
The UK government will be carrying out a national test of the UK Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3pm.
Emergency alerts let the public know about emergency situations, such as severe weather warnings. They will work like a radio broadcast. In an emergency, every compatible mobile phone or tablet in a range of a mast will receive the alert.
It is very important to be aware that the Emergency Alerts will sound even on devices set to silent.
For women living with domestic abuse having access to a hidden, secret phone can be a lifeline. This alert may reveal a secondary phone used for safety purposes.
When you get an Emergency Alert you will hear a loud, siren-like sound and your phone will use a distinct vibration. A message will appear on your screen and will remain there until you acknowledge it.
You can opt out and turn these alerts off before the test on Sunday 7 Sept. To do this, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’. Turn off ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.
Domestic Abuse charity, Refuge have put together a helpful video which can be watched here:
iPhone - https://brnw.ch/21wUCqA
Android - https://brnw.ch/21wUCqB
We are RECRUITING!
If you’re looking for a rewarding career and to work within an inspirational team that really does make a difference, this is your opportunity to join Border Women’s Aid. We currently have a vacancy for a Women’s Domestic Abuse Support Worker.
Closing Date: 9 June 2025.
BWA receives unannounced inspection by the Care Inspectorate
The Care Inspectorate’s unannounced inspection took place on 13 and 14 November 2024. The inspection was carried out by one inspector from the Care Inspectorate. To prepare for the inspection they reviewed information about the service. This included previous inspection findings, registration information, information submitted by the service and intelligence gathered since the last inspection. In making their evaluations of the service, the Care Inspectorate:
• spoke with five women using the service
• spoke with four staff and management
• observed practice and daily life
• reviewed documents and records
• reviewed survey responses from four external professionals and seven members of staff
To ensure that care and support is consistent with the Health and Social Care Standards (HSCS), the Care Inspectorate set out two key areas of improvement. Steps are already in place to work on these areas to ensure that BWA continues to provide women with high quality support.
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Care Inspectorate Report 2024