BBC DIY SOS: Leeds women's charity Getaway Girls gets a 'spectacular' new home in Seacroft

BBC One viewers saw how generous volunteers and businesses rallied round to donate time and materials to help create a “spectacular” new building in Seacroft for the Leeds charity Getaway Girls. Located in Brooklands Avenue, it includes offices, a creche, activity spaces, a music and media studio, counselling rooms and a garden – all with disabled access.

The charity has worked with Children in Need for more than a decade to provide safe spaces and more for girls and young women. It was put forward for the project in January, with construction starting in September.

Co-chair and trustee Samantha Toolsie said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the build with DIY SOS. It is spectacular and will contribute massively to raising the aspirations of the young women and girls that we work with.”

The charity has provided support to hundreds of women each year. Some girls may come to the charity for one-off support while some have become familiar faces attending sessions over years. This is due to the kind of support the charity offers says Zara Marcus, a specialist child sexual exploitation support worker at Getaway Girls. She said: “Instead of sticking a plaster on when girls come in and getting only one thing looked at, we like to provide a holistic approach.”

While the staff loved the area in Harehills where they were previously based, the 35-year-old charity said it had outgrown the building which had no parking facilities or Covid-friendly space. Zara added: “We wanted to have an inclusive place for all women but we didn’t have the disabled access. We also just couldn’t do the amount of things we wanted to do for the community and the women we worked with.”

The new space will provide the kind of space and facilities that are vital to the charity, says youth worker Hannah. With everyone now able to come under the same roof and access all the support available from one location, the charity can work on providing more opportunities for women and young girls.

The charity had sold its previous property and made Shine in Harehills its temporary home until the work was complete. Zara added: “Everything was put into boxes which filled up our office and we just continued to work around them.”

Hannah tells the YEP that despite the chaos, the charity chose to operate all its services throughout the relocation, running free activities every day throughout the summer for young girls.

As the charity were kept in the dark about the transformation, the BBC episode was much anticipated by staff and young girls who attended a screening in the new building. Zara adds: “It was incredible to see the process and how it was all put together. We saw it from rubble on the ground to literally a full building.

"It is also nice to really highlight the work that we do in the community. Hopefully, more young people can come through our doors now.”