We are very pleased to announce that our bid to access emergency funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government was successful. Islington Council is one of the 148 local areas who will benefit from the fund to save refuges which was announced on International Women's Day by DCLG (1). This money will be used to cover temporarily the gap left by the Islington council funding cuts to Latin American Women's Aid. The road ahead of us is now more hopeful but we are mindful that a lot of hard work needs to follow to ensure these gains are sustainable. So we echo Women’s Aid (2) in pointing out that it is vital that this fund is "matched with a commitment to exploring a new model of funding for refuges in the UK that supports them in the long-term". And to that end, we will continue joining our voices to those campaigning against funding cuts in the sector in order to find together joint and sustainable responses to maintain our vital services There are also more systemic battles that we are urged to contribute, such as the call to the UK government to make good its promise to abide by international law and standards on violence and discrimination against women. This is why we are joining forces with many others who are supporting #ICchange the national campaign for the UK to ratify the Istanbul Convention If you haven't done it already, please sign the #ICchange petition https://www.change.org/p/uk-government-get-serious-about-ending-violence-against-women We would like to thank our friends and supporters, our sister organisations in the women sector and beyond for your immense support and solidarity in the journey to #savelawarefuge No doubt these have been very challenging moments for us, but knowing how much you care about our cause has really made all the difference. Once we ensure the capacity is available, we are aiming to keep in touch more often with news and updates about our work, so please watch this space! In solidarity LAWA team ------- (1) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/10-million-support-for-women-facing-the-threat-of-domestic-violence (2) http://www.womensaid.org.uk/page.asp?section=0001000100100022§ionTitle=SOScy