AN ISLE of Wight domestic abuse charity, which has helped thousands of women over the years, has announced it will be closing for good later this year.

Wight DASH will close permanently on September 30.

This includes the WOW! Women’s Centre, based in Newport.

The hub, on Lower St James Street, is open for women to drop-in for activities and workshops — whether or not they have suffered domestic abuse.

“After 32 years of offering specialised support, primarily to women and children, this Island Charity is unable to continue its valuable work due to a lack of funding in this testing economic climate,” said a spokesperson for the board of trustees.

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In a video posted on Facebook, chief executive Fiona Gwinnett said: “Recent events, including Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing uncertainty with regard to the general economic situation – all of those have made things much more difficult.

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“I know that this will come as a shock and be deeply upsetting to many.

“What I can say is we will do all that we can in the time that remains to continue to provide support to those with whom we are currently working.”

"WOW grew out of a recognition that recovery from domestic abuse or anything else does not happen overnight — it's actually a very long process," said Fiona previously. 

"Very few people present with what they need straightaway.

"Life is complicated, and here we try to bring everything under one roof."

Wight DASH will continue to run sessions in the centre for the next few weeks.