Maria's Half Marathon for Yellow Door

Hi Everyone,

I am Maria, a 20-year-old student who is taking on the challenge of my first half marathon (hopefully the first of many)! I am running this in support of an incredible charity - Yellow Door.

A bit about Yellow Door

They are a Southampton-based charity that offers a wide range of specialist therapeutic,
support, and prevention services to anyone at risk from or affected by domestic abuse,
sexual violence/abuse, or other forms of interpersonal harm, across Hampshire. Yellow Door supports people from all backgrounds, ages, and genders.

When a person decides to report a sexually violent crime, they are allocated an ISVA. An ISVA is an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor. An individual allocated to support the affected individual throughout the investigation, final decision, and aftermath.

My Story

In 2022, I was assaulted on a night out. I went to hospital and decided to report it to the police. This was followed by a long and tiresome process, made easier only by the amazing support I received from my ISVAs.

I won't stand here and say that reporting it was easy, it took both a mental and physical toll on me. But it would've been 10 times harder without Mim and Jess. They handled all the communications with the police, explained the whole legal process, and helped me find my voice again.

How your donations could help!

• £5 - could buy resources for a child or young person doing Art Therapy.
• £10 - could provide transport costs for an ISVA client to attend a trial at court
• £15 - could pay for healthy food for children attending one of our 12-week therapeutic programs.
• £20 -could pay for resources so our STAR Project can deliver preventative
• educational workshops in schools
• £50 -could pay for a counseling session for someone who has experienced sexual abuse/violence
• £150 -could contribute towards STAR healthy relationship prevention sessions in Southampton schools

Thank you for reading my story! In the wise words of Tesco - every little helps!