Gainsborough based charity, Journey with Love, is hoping to increase their support they currently offer in the future, which is dependent on securing funding.
Journey with Love was first established as a community group in 2020 and registered as a charity in 2022.
Co-founded by Karen Broughton and her second eldest daughter Siobhan, their objective is to create bags for families who have experienced domestic violence to move on from surviving together to thriving. Karen said:
“I’m the manager and do most of the day-to-day running of the charity, and Siobhan is the Chairperson of the trustees. Journey, with love, was created from our lived experience of domestic abuse from both perspectives of a mum as well as a child which we merged to create our ‘with love’ bags.”
Karen found there was very little knowledge of how to actively emotionally support families who had experienced domestic violence. Karen added:
“The general expectation was you left, started over and just simply got on with life. Although I received lots of practical support, a place of safety in a refuge, help with money, and re-housing. Receiving emotional support would have helped me to work through the aftereffects of the trauma I’d experienced, instead, we stayed stuck in survival mode for years. Looking back, I can see just how much this impacted our relationship as a family, bound by our trauma, not by connection.”
Each Journey with Love bags and bracelets are handmade by Karen and her daughter Siobhan.
They contain; a loved before teddy, cuddle blanket, notebook and stationery (both the teddy and the cuddle blanket have matching sewn-on yellow love heart buttons which makes the bear a Journey bear), and a handmade pair of bracelets; one for the child, the second for the teddy, which can also be used as a comforter if the child is struggling with separation anxiety from mum and/or siblings.
“The items help in a variety of ways, offering comfort, as well as helping families to connect and thrive together by forging new positive memories as a family, through the action of a shared experience with the Journey Bear along for support.”
Alongside this, it is hoped the shared activity of talking, writing and drawing in the notebook about their memories of their experience will become a physical keepsake of happy and positive memories that help balance out earlier negative memories.
So far, the charity has donated 322 bags in Gainsborough, Scunthorpe, Boston and to three different women’s refuges in London called Hestia.
“I’m currently liaising with Lincoln EDAN and Louth Women’s Refuge to provide bags in the future. Lincoln EDAN also has an outreach support service here in Gainsborough.”
Journey with Love recently held a Christmas fundraiser with a total of £225 raised alongside other items that had been donated to them and Nurture with Lydia. This enabled them to provide gifts for 70 children across the country.
Nurture with Lydia is a breastfeeding counsellor and provides support to women pre and ante-natal.
“We are hoping to increase the support we currently offer in the future, dependent on securing funding.”
The second fundraiser is a sponsored skydive by a local resident. All proceeds are going to Journey with Love to enable them to provide more bags. Andy Ralph Butler said:
“I’ve got £350 of my £1500 target. I’ve also managed to get a few items to help raise funds, a signed football shirt, and autobiography. The charity are based in Gainsborough and thought it was an amazing opportunity to help.”
Andy is hoping that the raised money will enable Journey with Love to continue their journey.
To find out more about Journey, with Love, visit their Facebook, Instagram or their fundraiser.