Battle Scars Self-harm Support Charity
Cause Area
- Children & Youth
- Emergency & Safety
- LGBTQ+
- People with Disabilities
- Women
Location
Onward Mental Health & Wellbeing HubOnward House, Millshaw Park WayLeeds, West Yorkshire LS11 0LSUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Organization Information
Mission Statement
We support anybody affected by self-harm: those who self-harm and those supporting them (family, friends and professionals) to make sure they no longer feel alone. We build better awareness of self-harm's complexity, roots and reasons resulting in anybody affected by self-harm receiving non-judgemental, genuine peer support, acceptance and understanding so they can build a healthier future for themselves. We educate, influence change and break down the self-harm stigma. We encourage our service users, volunteers and staff to live life despite the self-harm, to achieve whatever they can manage and continue inspiring others. We create safe environments where people affected by self-harm can be themselves. To make sure nobody who struggles with self-harm, in whichever form, fights alone. To break down the stigma surrounding self-harm.
Description
Battle Scars was formed because of the need of one person to find support for her self-harm. Starting as a peer support Facebook group in January 2016, we formed the Battle Scars community group (Unincorporated Association) in April 2016.
Fast growth resulted in Battle Scars becoming a registered charity (CIO - Charitable Incorporated Organisation) in England and Wales on February 6th, 2018.
We are based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, running local face-to-face services, and national virtual services alongside our ever-growing worldwide Facebook group.
Battle Scars Founder & CEO - Jenny Groves
I started self-harming as a teenager and spent 25 years unaware there were others who also self-harmed, thinking I was the only one. I founded Battle Scars in 2016 when looking for support for myself and discovering a huge gap in services and support for people who self-harm. I have had a varied work career (amongst others, guitar maker and shaman) all of it bringing me here. As the CEO, I am spearheading Battle Scars as well as running services, delivering workshops and all self-harm training to professionals, networking and being the voice of Battle Scars and people who self-harm. I am now very open about my own self-harm and encourage our staff and volunteers to be the same so we can break down the stigma.
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