Standing Together

Yesterday Roch, friend Terry and I  went to Beryl Foster's retirement party at Linden House, in Hammersmith. It was a lovely evening and I felt really honoured to be there. For those of you who don't know, Beryl, Founder-Member of Standing Together against Domestic Violence has been the principal driving force behind Domestic Violence Policy change in Hammersmith & Fulham since 1975. Roch sat on the Domestic Violence Forum for H&F for a good ten years as the Housing representative. As he would say, Beryl moulded him expertly! He was mentioned in her Farewell speech and I think we both had tears in our eyes as she described his integrity, and his empathy and compassion when interviewing survivors of domestic violence - even when he could not meet their housing needs. That's quite something, when a Legend like Beryl - who has, over the years, (with the help of many others dedicated to the Cause) managed to spearhead change throughout the Borough to create multi agency partnerships with the aim of meeting the needs of women fleeing domestic violence.

Good luck Beryl on your retirement, and hope to see you again soon.
Many thanks to Beryl and Bear for making all the arrangements for access for Roch - and to the wonderful staff at Linden House for their kindness and attentiveness. And as always, many thanks to our faithful friend, Terry for helping to make it such a memorable evening.

http://standingtogether.org.uk 

"Launched more than 10 years ago, Standing Together works to promote a coordinated multi-agency community response to domestic violence. This approach recognises that no one agency can tackle domestic violence effectively if acting alone. Without effective coordination of activities between agencies, responses are less effective and survivors of domestic violence are still at risk of falling through the gaps in the system."

"Standing Together's Ambition is to eradicate domestic abuse by embedding enduring transformation in the way organisations and individuals think about, prevent and respond to it. Through partnership working, we safeguard families and communities; effect change in damaging behaviours; secure justice for the vulnerable; and overturn equalities."

                                                    

Roch with Beryl Foster OBE at his retirement party in September