ARC extends opening hours (From Warrington Guardian)

ARC extends opening hours

A WARRINGTON charity which offers support and advice to anyone affected by abusive relationships has extended its opening hours after a survey revealed that employers are losing £3 billion each year to domestic violence.

ARC, now based at The Gateway, offers a range of information and advice, emotional support, counselling and resources to anyone affected by violent, abusive or unhealthy relationships, whatever their age or sex.

The shocking statistics were revealed in a report commissioned by the Government and conducted by Leeds University as part of its commitment to tackling domestic violence.

But Lucy Hughes, counselling co-coordinator at ARC, said: "This figure is only calculated on time off work due to injuries and doesn't take into consideration the other types of abuse that may be endured, such as emotional or financial, and the subsequent impact this has on employees in performing their work duties. It is sometimes very difficult for employers to know when to intervene.

"At ARC, we receive an increasing number of calls from people who want to access our services but due to work commitments cannot attend. Now that we have moved to The Gateway, we are able to increase our opening hours to allow clients to access the centre."