A woman who fled an abusive relationship is now helping other women by giving them clothing parcels.
Entrepreneur Rachael Bews is tackling the clothing crisis by helping women escaping abusive and violent relationships to maintain their ‘dignity, identity and confidence’.
The 26-year-old from Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands, was inspired to set up her charity Alicas following her own experience of a violent relationship last year.
The parcels Alicas provide are made up of a week’s worth of clothes, including pyjamas, smart work-style clothes, dresses, trousers and essentials like socks, underwear and tights.
Each clothing box contains at least 30 items and can be tailored for cultural or religious needs, and includes a hand-written letter of support.
Alicas launched a campaign last month to collect 10,000 items to make 300 clothing packs to give to women in need.
Rachel escaped her violet ex-partner in 2017.
She started a relationship with him after completing her studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Inverness, before moving to Italy to teach English.
She fell in love, but the relationship took an unexpected turn and Rachael found herself having to flee the country in February 2017 after her partner turned violent.
When she returned to Scotland, Rachel was offered help from Ross-shire Women’s Aid.
And after realising the poor quality of clothes available to women who need help, Rachael became inspired to explore her own ideas.
The charity is also inspired by a woman called Alison Grant, who shared her experiences with Rachel.
Rachel said: ‘When I was 18 I worked with a wonderful woman called Ali who fled to Inverness with her three kids from an abusive partner, with only the clothes on their backs.
‘She had fled hundreds of miles from England and left a good job as a nurse behind, yet she still remained positive and strong.’
Alison Grant, who Rachael recently regained contact with, told her how a nice coat and pair of shoes gave her the confidence and strength to make it through the aftermath of her abusive relationship.
Rachael said: ‘She mentioned how her coat and shoes were important to her, and I remember thinking how those two things are such humble garments.
‘But when you lose so much they are so important in holding onto who you are – it really struck me.’
She called it Alicas (Ali’s coat and shoes), in recognition of the bravery of her old workmate Alison.
Rachel said: ‘I did some research and found out about retailers burying and incinerating clothing left over from sales.
‘I think there needs to be more government pressure to stop the needless destruction of clothing from major design labels.
‘There are thousands of women out there in clothing crisis so I set out to try and bridge the gap.
‘The retailers I spoke to thought it was a really good idea.’
After reaching out, Rachael received positive support from Orkney designer Kirsteen Stewart, German plus size clothing company Navabi and London-based ethical clothing firm Compare Ethics.
Having also received backing from the Royal Bank of Scotland’s entrepreneurship programme, Rachael set about establishing her very own organisation.
Rachel said: ‘A big barrier to women and their children leaving an abusive partner can be the idea of losing everything and leaving everything behind.
‘Women don’t always have financial independence either and can be scared of having to start again with nothing.
‘In the case of one woman we supported, her partner destroyed all her clothes so she had nothing to move on with.
‘It can be a way of controlling and abusing women, so we want to empower women to retain their dignity and confidence.’
Alicas works through referrals from support bodies such as Shakti, who help women in need from ethnic and minority backgrounds, and Women’s Aid.
The charity also sell items through their website and accept clothing donations.
They ask that members of the public look through their wardrobes to pass on any unused clothes to help women in need. They are trying to send out 300 parcels by Christmas, but they only have six so far.
Rachael said: ‘Family crises can escalate around Christmas time and with the changing weather we’re trying to get more boots and warmer clothes prepared.
‘The first woman we supported was only 19 and she was over the moon with her package.’
She added: ‘It’s been quite a journey.
‘For my family it was very difficult seeing one of their own go through something like I did, but they’ve been very supportive and really want my organisation to succeed.
‘For me it became a huge focus and passion at that time of my life and a part of my recovery as well.’
Having recently moved into new premises in the Edinburgh she said: ‘At the moment our pilot is Scotland, but we’ve had interest in England and we’re really interested to speak to more companies who want to pioneer this.
‘Our ambition is to help women throughout the UK.’
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