A West Cumbria artist has turned her passions to helping charity Women Out West with kindly donated crafts for art therapy classes.

Egremont's Emma Hunt, acclaimed pastel artist and volunteer for Women Out West (WoW), delivered pastel packs to the next cohort of WoW clients on their art therapy course, which are freely available to ladies who are often in emotionally and financially challenging circumstances following domestic and sexual abuse.

A representative of WoW, which was set up to address the needs of some of the most vulnerable women in West Cumbria and support victims of domestic abuse stated: "What Emma and the team at WoW thought was already an incredible donation to support the therapeutic classes turned out to be an absolute bounty of beautiful handmade pastels. The wonderful staff at Unison Colour helped Emma fill her car with many hundreds of pastels. The financial value is incredible. It allows Women Out West and Emma to deliver for as long as these supplies last – quite some time indeed!

They expanded on the impact that the donations will have for those involved, stating:"The impact of art therapy is well recognised, and this is well demonstrated by feedback received. When asked if the course had helped with wellbeing and confidence one lady wrote that “It let me travel to an alternate universe for a few hours, so I didn’t have to care about anything else apart from what was in front of me” and another said “In just 6 weeks I felt like us ladies were feeling more confident and comfortable to talk and share."

Founder of Women Out West, Rachel Holliday, was overjoyed by news of the donation, saying: “Throughout lockdown we have found ways to support our clients online, and the benefit of Emma’s art course on their mental health has been tangible. It is an important cog in the road to recovery from trauma. Unison Colour have made future scheduling of the course so much easier, whether online or in person as restrictions ease over the year ahead. I would also like to thank Emma for volunteering her time and expertise so generously.”

Emma Hunt said: “I felt very emotional after my wonderful visit to Unison Colour as their generosity will make such a difference to so many women. I am blown away by the team’s understanding of the impact this will have on these vulnerable ladies. I see how their confidence develops and how they switch off from their other challenges while they are painting."

Work by those involved with Women Out West will be on display at The Rum Story this summer.