Monday, August 20, 2012



Good news on Wellington Rape Crisis

Wellington Rape Crisis has announced that they have met their funding target and will return to full-time operation:

Wellington Rape Crisis (WRC) has today announced that it will be able to open its doors again on a Friday after just one week of operating limited services. Last week Wellington Rape Crisis was forced to cut its services by 20 percent by closing its doors on Fridays, due to funding shortages.

Wellington Rape Crisis Agency Manager Natalie Gousmett says “We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the community support for our organisation. In the last week we have raised $55,000 from donations from the community, which will enable us to regain full capacity immediately, after only one week operating on limited services”.

“A big part of this fundraising success has been the dollar-for-dollar pledge by Hell Pizza for donations to our Fundy site but we have also received donations from over 550 individuals. It really shows that the community values and supports the work we do with survivors of rape and sexual abuse and their support people. WRC staff, Governance and volunteers want to say a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone that has supported us”, says Gousmett.

Its great that so many people stepped up to help when it was needed. At the same time, we need to remember that this crisis was caused primarily by government underfunding, and hold those responsible for that decision to account.