Welcome to the JUNE 2014 edition of

CSVSS newsletter.

The first 6 months of 2014 has seen an in-
crease in volunteers with more of our new
telephone support workers now taking their
place on the rota for the CSVSS support line.

We are also pleased to have recruited our
first male counsellor which now puts us in the
position of being able to offer our clients a
choice and we are hopeful that this may par-
ticularly appeal to prospective male clients.

Meanwhile client referrals are increasing and
we are working hard to ensure that trend
continues and that the public and other agen-
cies are aware of the services we offer.

The 2
nd
half of 2014 promises to be an excit-
ing time with the proposed change in our
venue in August enabling us to offer clients
greater with regard to appointment times.
From the Project Manager ...
Issue 9 June 2014
CSVSS is a
registered charity
No. 1133564

CSVSS
Po Box 280
Chester
CH1 1FB

Helpline:
FREEPHONE
0808 284 0484
(free from landlines
and some mobiles.
Some mobile
operators may
charge ) or
01244 317922

Information /
Appointments
07583 879464

Website:
www.csvss.org.uk

E-mail:
chestersvss@yahoo
.co.uk

C.S.V.S.S.

@CSVSS1

Project Manager
Gabrielle Pearson

Admin Assistant
Linda Middleton

Chair
Helen Black

Secretary
Dinah Dunkerley

Treasurer
Janet Carr

The plastic sheeting is wrapped around the
scaffolding of the Bluecoat Hospital which
means that inside the building work is pro-
gressing.

We have seen the architects plans and have
been involved in discussions about the layout
of our new office space and counselling
rooms.

We are now assured of a place within the
newly converted building when it opens lat-
er in the year.

This exciting development will allow us to
offer our clients a greater choice with regard
to appointment times. Rather than being
limited to evening and Saturday sessions,
we intend, in the future, to meet the needs
of women and men who wish to come for
counselling during the day

This will of course benefit many who have
school aged children and therefore can
manage day time appointments much more
easily.
We are looking forward to working within a
building which houses other voluntary agen-
cies and which we hope will be seen as a
vibrant resource for the people of Chester.

Moving to the Bishops Bluecoat Building
Newsletter
Contents:
From the Project
Manager
1
Moving to the
Bishops Blue-
coat Building
1
Supporting Our
Services
2
New Counsel- 2
Donations to the
Charity
2
Counselling for
Men
2
Turning Point 2

We would like to remind all GPs, health
professionals, social workers, mental
health professionals and key workers from
related agencies that we offer a confiden-
tial and free counselling service to men
and women over the age of 18 years old
who have been victims of sexual abuse,
exploitation or violence either recently or in
the past.

Any professional who would like to refer
someone to our service can contact us by
phone or email us and we will send you a
referral form. If you would like our Project
Manager, Gabrielle Pearson, to meet with
you and/or your team for a general intro-
duction and further explanation about our
services then please contact us and that
can be arranged.

Gabrielle Pearson
Donations to the Charity
Page 2

It has long been the case that men are
more reluctant than women to reach out
for help. Whether this is asking for direc-
tions, going to the doctor or seeking help
through talking about matters that con-
cern them.

Men just like women have emotional
needs. They feel things such as anger,
grief, shame, sadness and anxiety and
are becoming more willing to
acknowledge and express them.

A recent survey by BACP (Feb 2014)
has found that more men are now com-
ing forward for counselling and seeing it
as both a positive and relevant source of
help.

In response to this upturn and in recognition
of the fact that men too are victims of sexual
violence and childhood sexual abuse,
CSVSS now offers a counselling service for
men.

We recognise that it is still hard for men to
come forward for counselling but we hope
that by offering a supportive environment,
with confidentiality assured, plus the oppor-
tunity to talk to a male counsellor if pre-
ferred, we can encourage male victims of
sexual violence and abuse to come forward,
confident that they will get the help they
need.

SUPPORTING OUR
SERVICES

After using our services
a few years ago,
following an experience
of her own, one of our
supporters has
designated CSVSS as
her charity of choice
when she completes
the BUPA Great North
Run.

This will take place on 7
September 2014.

So far training is going
well but any donations
would be greatly
appreciated!

These can be made
online by following the
link below:
https://
mydonate.bt.com/
fundraisers/
cerimortongnr
Well let you know how
she gets on in our next
newsletter.

NEW COUNSELLORS

We are looking to
recruit more counsellors
to our team so if you
are interested then
please contact
Gabrielle Pearson
Project Manager at
gabrielle@csvss.org.uk

We are particularly
interested to increase
the number of male
counsellors to reflect
the changing client
group attending our
service.



KIND DONATION
CSVSS have been lucky to receive a
kind donation to support our charity
from:
PRS TELCOM LTD
who are supporting us with our telecoms
systems. They have provided us with,
and are bearing the cost of, a Free-
phone number for our helpline:
The number is 0808 2840484
This number is free from landlines and some
mobiles. Some mobile operators may charge
They have also provided us with a mobile
phone for use in our office on a day to day
basis and are bearing the cost of our calls.
PRS TELCOM LTD
Have also offered to help us with our tele-
coms systems when we move to our new
premises and we are grateful for both their
generosity and their expertise.
Counselling for Men
Turning Point
In the last few months there have been
many news stories about incidents of
sexual abuse both locally and nationally.

We have seen the familiar faces of ce-
lebrities outside court rooms responding
to these charges, many of which go back
many years. Recently Max Clifford was
found guilty and jailed for 8 years for
sexually abusing four teenage women
between the years of 1977 and 1985.
The judge in this case imposed double
the sentence because of the contemptu-
ous behaviour he exhibited towards his
victims in the courtroom thus adding to
their trauma.

The senior officer in the case thanked
and praised the women for their bravery
in coming forward and Alison Saunders,
the Director of Public Prosecutions,
pledged to support victims.
Hopefully the successful conviction of Max
Clifford and also others such as Stuart Hall
who have been held to account for their
crimes, will encourage victims to come for-
ward.

Incidents of sexual abuse are still massively
under reported. The nature of the crime
leaves victims humiliated and traumatised.
All too often the added fear of not being be-
lieved, of being shamed, belittled and dis-
missed by the media, the courts and sadly
the family too, silences the victims and pre-
vents them from reaching out for help.

Let us hope that the recent convictions mark
a turning point as more is done to support
those who can give the vital evidence need-
ed to ensure that abusers are held to ac-
count for the crimes they have committed
against vulnerable young people.