The UK’s only national domestic violence charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender has gone into liquidation.
We have been informed that Broken Rainbow, which is based in Manchester, emailed their staff late last night to advise them of the closure. While no formal announcement has been forthcoming an insider confirmed the news to OutNews Global.
The Home Office stated in March that it would renew the charity’s funding until at least 2017 after Liberal Democrat peer, Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, raised the issue in the House of Lords.
Responding to a written question, Home Office minister Lord Michael Bates said: “The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse.
“Broken Rainbow plays an important role in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic abuse, and the Home Office has informed Broken Rainbow that it will be renewing funding to support its helpline for 2016/17.”
Only yesterday, June 2, Greater Manchester Police announced a pilot scheme with Broken Rainbow and the LGBT Foundation to officially record domestic violence cases in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) households.
More than 200 GMP officers have received five weeks of training to help them understand these issues and the barriers to reporting.
Emma Baldry, training coordinator at Broken Rainbow, spoke exclusively to OutNews and said: “Due to a major mismanagement by the former CEO and failings of the board of trustees it is with deepest regret that I can confirm that Broken Rainbow has ceased to operate as of an email received at 10:30pm last night. However, the staff have worked tirelessly to keep the charity working for as long as possible, some with no wages for up to two months.”
Emma assured us that the helpline has been taken on by another provider and will be working as normal on the usual phone numbers from Monday as always. She added: “If you are in need please still ring and you will be given the same level of support as before.”
The insider also told us that the staff have worked so hard and been loyal to the service users in keeping things going for as long as possible and are as saddened by recent events.
With a loss of jobs and so many depending on their vital service we are left wondering what went wrong and who will pick up the reins?
