Survive will reopen their waiting list on Monday 27 April 2026

Survive, the only accredited sexual violence agency in York and North Yorkshire providing specialist services and trauma-specific interventions for adult survivors of rape, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse, will reopen its waiting list on Monday 27 April with limited spaces available.

The charity was forced to close its waiting list to non-funded self-referrals in May 2025 after experiencing sustained and increased demand for its services—demand that the charity had neither the funds nor capacity to meet.

Whilst long-term funding for Survive remains uncertain, recent funding from the Ministry of Justice Rape and Sexual Abuse Services Fund (RASASF) means Survive can now temporarily reopen its waiting list.

Since closing the waiting list, the team have continued to see around 100 survivors every week, and have delivered over 5,600 hours of dedicated counselling, trauma therapy, and EMDR psychotherapy.

From 27 April, a limited number of places will become available across Survive’s core services, including support work, counselling, trauma therapy, and EMDR psychotherapy. These services are designed to help survivors process trauma, reduce psychological distress, and rebuild their ability to cope with everyday life.

Survive is urging anyone who has been waiting to start or continue their Survive journey to get in touch as soon as the waiting list opens, as the available places are expected to fill quickly.

Sexual violence and abuse are strongly associated with poorer mental, emotional and physical health. Many survivors experience severe psychological distress and symptoms of PTSD, including anxiety, depression, nightmares, flashbacks and panic attacks. Survivors may also experience feelings of shame, guilt, self-blame and worthlessness, making everyday life difficult to navigate and affecting their work, education, relationships and ability to care for themselves.

Survive’s specialist, trauma-informed services and interventions are proven to help reduce psychological distress and trauma symptoms and support survivors in rebuilding their lives.

Mags Godderidge, CEO of Survive, said: “It is very hard for the team to admit that we simply cannot keep up with demand, and putting a limit on the number of people who can access our support is incredibly difficult – especially when we know it can take survivors years if not decades to tell someone what happened. We want our services to be available when survivors are ready to talk. We know our support can make a real difference to survivors’ ability to function in everyday life, which in turn reduces their reliance on other over-stretched services like the NHS.”

“Although we support any adult survivor, we acknowledge that women are disproportionately affected by rape, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse. When violence against women and girls remains a priority for local and national government, it is difficult to understand why specialist services like ours are struggling for the funding and support needed to meet demand.”

Survive remains committed to supporting adult survivors across York and North Yorkshire, but warns that without long-term strategic funding, the ability to meet growing demand will continue to be severely limited.

Anyone wishing to access support is encouraged to contact Survive from 27 April onwards. Survive plans to keep the waiting list open for up to two weeks, depending on the numbers coming forward.

From the 27 April, survivors will be able to refer via Survive’s website: www.survive-northyorks.org.uk or by calling the team on 01904 638 813