AMIS has weathered the COVID-19 crisis fairly well so far. We had already reduced our operational costs last Christmas, by taking up an offer of desk space with EVOC. Now since lockdown in March our staff all work from home, and overheads are minimal. We have found the helpline lent itself well to remote working once some phone provider issues had been dealt with. The face-to-face work we previously provided for clients able to come to Edinburgh moved over to ZOOM. That has proved to be popular and so, post-covid, we will offer both Zoom and face-to-face meetings. We hope to have an on-line Chat service soon too.
Working from home proved to be productive, which was fortunate as client numbers rose by 25% in April and have remained high. Case-work is affected by COVID-19 considerations and it takes longer to help clients find safe routes out of abusive situations. Our support staff and volunteer have been working non-stop to meet demand.
Lockdown, home-working, and the various restrictions have provided perfect conditions for domestic/partner abuse to thrive. Many victims, already restricted in their movements and isolated from friends and family by their partners are in greater danger and have even fewer opportunities (such as places of employment) for respite. Lack of normal conversations with friendly faces, worries over income, jobs, older, ill and vulnerable relatives, fears for children’s education, etc., have taken a heavy toll on the physical safety, mental health and resilience of our clients.
At the start of the pandemic, a small amount of funding to increase helpline staffing would have greatly helped more callers to get through and we applied to specific funds earmarked for the emergency. Sadly, no such resources found their way to AMIS.
We are having more success now in our renewed efforts to secure sufficient funds for 2021. We plan an increase in our capacity for direct support services and increase the amount of training, education and provision of information to policy makers.. Our aim as always is to make sure the forgotten men whose lives are being shattered by abusive partners can be better provided for, by AMIS and all the other services able to help.
We are always on the look-out for new volunteers with the right knowledge, skills and time to help AMIS make more of a difference. If interested please let us know at: [email protected]
Festive Period Helpline Hours
The AMIS Helpline will operate as normal during the Festive break except for Christmas Day and New Years Day.
- Christmas Day – 10am to 2pm
- New Year Day – 10am to 2pm
AMIS supports men and non-binary people (over the age of 16) throughout Scotland affected by domestic abuse. We welcome contact from clients themselves, other agencies, or concerned friends or family members.
We are here to listen and support. If you would like any more information on how we can help, or about any aspect of our work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Outwith these hours the Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline can be accessed, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call free on 0800 027 1234.
