We’re very excited to let you know that FiLiA has been selected to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022, the UK’s largest match funding campaign. Last year, thanks to generous supporters like you, the campaign raised over £22 million for participating charities.

FiLiA will be raising money for our project, Women’s Healing Journey, working in partnership with Faces and Voices of Recovery, a UK-wide based charitable human rights advocacy service led by people with living and lived experience of alcohol and other drugs representing the voices of communities affected by addiction.

In 2023 the FiLiA Legacy project will work in Glasgow in 2023, we will start contacting local Women’s organisation to find out what their needs are. Working with women with substance use disorder has already been highlighted as a need. Deprivation and low aspiration lead to limited choices for women and negative long-term health impacts. Many services are mixed and don’t cater to the specific issues that women face. Deaths caused by a complication of substance use disorder are increasing.

In partnership with Faces and Voices of recovery, we will organise a healing weekend for women with substance use disorder. We will curate an intensive residential healing weekend on the Isle of Bute. Connection building, raising aspiration and developing resilience in a Women-only environment will solidify healthy choices. Working with women at various stages of recovery will provide peer support that they can take forward on their healing journey.

During the project we will contact local agencies and service providers to develop relationships with prospective guests for the weekend, working with them to identify women suitable for the weekend, and provide initial engagement and support to help them to be ready to engage. To build trusting relationships we will meet all prospective guests one to one to discuss eligibility, what they wish to gain from the weekend, and activities they would like to include. They will help to build the programme. We will host 25 women for an intensive healing weekend in a women only environment at a residential site on the Isle of Bute. We would include meditation, drumming, inspirational speakers, consciousness raising and nurturing support from other women at different points in their recovery journey We will share good practice by sharing the outcomes of the weekend with local service providers and at our annual event on October 23. Women will be supported (where they wish to) to share the difference the intervention has meant to them, and the benefit of women-led interventions. We believe the intensive programme will support Women to increase their confidence, build their local support networks and develop personal aspirations.

Donations to this project will be matched for 7 days from 2 pm on 29th November, #GivingTuesday. One donation, twice the impact. This funding gives a great opportunity to make a difference to women and makes the most of your generous support.

What happens during the Christmas Challenge?

Donations made to our project via theBigGive.org.uk will be doubled during the campaign. If you would like to support our work this year, we highly recommend doing so during the Christmas Challenge, when your donation will be doubled and make even more of a difference for women.

What do I need to do? 

Donate on our campaign page when the Christmas Challenge launches at midday on the 29th of November.

Your funding will only be matched if it comes via that link during the 7 days of the campaign.

Please contact sally@filia.org.uk if you have any questions.

Thank you.