Outstanding work rewarded

12:28pm Friday 4th July 2008

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A CAERPHILLY based co-ordinator was presented with an outstanding award for her work with the victims of domestic abuse.

Caerphilly County Borough Council's Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator is celebrating, having recently received a prestigious award.

Lynne Bosanko-Williams was awarded with a much-deserved Outstanding Achievement Award for contributions to the field of Domestic Abuse at a recent "Standing Together" conference in London.

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC presented Lynne with the award, which Caerphilly County Borough Council nominated her for.

The award was in recognition for her co-ordinated work and achievements such as her role in co-ordinating the Caerphilly Domestic Abuse Forum's strategy and action plan as well as leading on key protocols such as the Caerphilly Safeguarding Children and Young People affected by Domestic Abuse.

Her ongoing coordinating and developing role within the county borough's front line services for those affected by domestic abuse and their children, was also a key reason for Lynne's nomination for the award.

Lynne was also at the forefront of the bid to open a "one-stop-shop" for victims of domestic abuse and their families in the county borough.

Following a successful bid to the National Assembly for Wales for over £110,000, The Safer Caerphilly MAC (Multi Agency Centre) has now been up and running for over a year, and is an invaluable addition to services available for victims of domestic abuse and indeed their families.

The MAC's main aims are to significantly reduce the number of people that victims of domestic abuse need to approach in order to get the help they need, and also to increase the swiftness of response and the safety of the victims and their children.

So successful have the efforts of the MAC been, it won the a prestigious award from the Heads of Midwifery Advisory Group Wales in the "Partnership Working" category, having triumphed over thirteen other applicants.

Domestic Abuse Co-ordinator, Lynne Bosanko-Williams said, "I am extremely honoured to have received this award for contributions to the field of domestic abuse.

"We have come an awfully long way in recent years in increasing provision of help and support to those who are in abusive relationships, and this award is a fantastic achievement for not only myself, but for the dedicated frontline staff at the MAC, partner agencies, the Domestic Abuse Forum and indeed Caerphilly council".

Caerphilly County Borough Council's cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Lyn Ackerman said, "This is a fantastic achievement for Lynne, the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership and Caerphilly council - Lynne has worked tirelessly, campaigning to raise the profile of domestic abuse throughout the county borough, and she has consistently been at the forefront of providing invaluable support to many victims and their families who are currently in, or who escaped from, abusive relationships.

Lynne is currently the only person in Wales to have received such an award, which is testament to the immense hard work that she and the dedicated frontline staff at the MAC continue to perform in order to further raise the profile of domestic abuse - well done Lynne, you should be extremely proud of your efforts, and long may they continue".

If you or anyone you know are affected by domestic abuse, contact the Safer Caerphilly MAC (Mon-Fri 10am-4pm) on 01443 819317.