TROWBRIDGE charity Splitz has welcomed an award of £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All grants, with the money to be used to help young people affected by domestic abuse.

Splitz Support Service, which is located at White Horse Business Park, will use the grant money to run more drama-based interventions for those who have suffered as a result of domestic abuse.

The Elephant in the Room project is a group intervention for up to 12 young people per group. Each group is held over of six weeks, with each session lasting for four hours.

Before entering the group session, the youngsters will also have six one-to-one sessions with a skilled support worker, while there is also a simultaneous programme run for mothers.

Peter Davies, fundraising coordinator for Splitz, said: “We are delighted to receive the £10,000 from Awards for All as it means more Wiltshire young people, traumatised by domestic abuse, can be helped along their healing journey.

“We take particularly traumatised and distressed children and young people and bring them into a group setting and, through skilled facilitators and the imaginative use of arts and crafts, IT, drama, and storytelling, allowing the young people to make sense of their situation.

“A concurrent programme we run also allows their mums space to socialise, interact and make their own explorations of their situation and of the affect domestic abuse has had on their children.

“Our aim is to see the children and young people we support realise their potential. We want them to draw encouragement from others in the group and to understand that it isn’t their fault.”

As part of the project, an elephant was designed and produced by young people in the scheme, with one side reflecting the positive attributes of life and the other a darker side of pain and sadness.

Splitz, which receives help from theatre company Loudmouth for the drama project, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and worked directly with almost 300 young people last year.

Mr Davies, who praised the work of youth activity co-ordinator Kim Patton, added: “The project helps young people learn about themselves, make positive lifestyle choices and develop skills and self-confidence.

“We aim to see the development of healthy and respectful relationships which avoids the path that can happen, that of the victim becoming the perpetrator and repeating the abusive cycle.”

For more information, visit www.splitz.org