Meeting held on Wednesday 7 February 2024
The Group met to hear about WORTH (women on the road to healing), with speaker Robyn Riggans, the founder and CEO of the charity set up in Chesterfield 9 years ago, to help women cope with life after having been in an abusive relationship.
Robyn shared her personal story and how she came to set up the charity.
The charity runs from Monday to Friday in term time only. Courses exist in Art Therapy, Music Therapy, and Horticultural Therapy and, they now have their own allotment.
Other courses are run in Guided Meditation, Self Defence and there is a Writing Group in which stories as well as poetry have been written, some of which have been published including one book entitled ‘Keeping Faith in a Mustard Seed.’ There are Christian courses and Bible Study Groups as well.
1:1 support can be offered to women as well as a ‘Befriending Service,’ also 1: 1 support for children, who can be affected by abusive relationships in so many ways.
The charity is supported by 2 salaried staff and 17 volunteers, many of whom have been through traumatic events in their own lives, and WORTH relies on grants and donations.
Robyn came across as a truly inspirational and exceptional young woman and, is due to start teaching at Derby College and to train others at churches in both Matlock and Derby City. The evening produced a good number of questions from the Women’s Group Members.