A charitable foundation set up in honour of the founders of the famous Liverpool Blue Funnel shipping line awards £1.7m to domestic abuse charities in Merseyside. Tony McDonough reports

Charities across Merseyside supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse are being supported to the tune of £1.7m.

Liverpool-based the PH Holt Foundation is offering Action on Abuse grants to enable local organisations to expand front-line services, deliver trauma-informed care, and deliver much needed support to individuals affected by abuse.

Grant funding will support a range of initiatives – including emergency accommodation, counselling and mental health support, covering core costs, advice delivered through Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVA), and new outreach programmes.

The PH Holt Foundation is an independent grant-making charity based in Liverpool. It is named in honour of Philip Henry Holt, who, with his brother Alfred, founded the Ocean Steam Ship Company, better known as the Blue Funnel Line, in 1865. 

Both brothers were keen philanthropists, establishing some of Liverpool’s most cherished educational and arts institutions, which endure to this day. Through their support for local causes, they sought to improve everyday life for Liverpudlians and ship workers alike.

After Philip Holt’s death in 1914, Ocean Steam Ship created the first of two charitable trusts that bear his name. The Holt Education Trust was established in 1915, followed in 1955 by The PH Holt Charitable Trust, known today as the PH Holt Foundation.

Speaking about the latest award, foundation chair Elspeth Christie says “This significant investment in local domestic violence charities reflects our deep and long-standing commitment to helping vulnerable people and communities. The charities we are funding are doing extraordinary work under immense pressure”.

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The PH Holt Foundation has a rich heritage of supporting social justice through community-based projects. This funding marks one of the Foundation’s most ambitious grant-making programmes to date.

Lesley Martin-Wright, chair of the Action on Abuse Fund added “Domestic abuse devastates lives. We hope that the meaningful financial support will help to ensure that local domestic abuse charities can respond swiftly, compassionately and sustainably to those in urgent need”.

The Action on Abuse fund remains open for applications, and Merseyside based charities whose primary purpose is working in the field of domestic abuse are encouraged to apply. Click here for more details.