The boss of a domestic abuse charity which has been forced to close due to a funding crisis has said she was “bereft” but proud of its work over more than 30 years.
Vida, in Sheffield, had been supporting victims in the city since starting up in the mid-1990s as the Sheffield Domestic Violence Forum.
The charity, which in its final years employed six part-time staff as well as volunteers, had about 200 referrals a year and was supporting 60 women at the time of its closure in the summer.
Karen Hague, Vida’s chief executive, said the closure, which was announced in June, had been “hard to process” due to the administrative tasks surrounding its winding up.
The charity, which needed about £250,000 a year to operate, had sought a fresh source of funding after failing to gain new National Lottery cash following an award last year.
Sheffield City Council had previously been asked to fund the charity’s work, but the authority said it could not do so, though resources to support women were invested in a range of organisations.
Hague told BBC Radio Sheffield: “The sense now – when you walk into an empty office which doesn’t have all of that equipment in and the positive statements on the wall – I feel very bereft.
“I was, like, what was it all for?
“But then I take a moment and I think, actually all those women that have been supported for decades, over 30 years now with Vida, that’s why it’s worth it.”
