Help group the Women's Resource Centre last night wished to thank the people of Bermuda who have donated cash during its last hard-up year.

Director Penny Dill said as a result of resident's generosity, for the first time in three years, the centre has been able to finish the year with surplus money in the bank.

She said that was some feat for the charity, which started out in January this year so strapped for cash that it feared it would have to close down.

An appeal for money through The Royal Gazette resulted in a number of large donations to the charity, as well as a three-year commitment of cash.

But Ms Dill said the giving did not stop there. Every month this year, the charity has received sizeable donations from the public.

Ms Dill said: "It started out as a pretty poor year for the Women's Resource Centre, but thanks to the generosity of people in Bermuda, it has been a very good year for us.

"We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped us. We were given a lot of help during the appeal we had, but have continued to receive financial support throughout the year. I don't think there has been a month when we have not had a donation, in one way or another.

"We have also had a couple of very successful fundraisers ourselves, which has helped. We are now financially stable. In fact, for the first time in three years, we have actually been able to put money aside to fall back on in emergencies.

"Before, even at the start of this year, we were living hand to mouth, month to month. Now we are able to forecast much better for next year."

The Women's Resource Centre, which acts as a support group for both men and women and offers free legal advice, as well as a court advocate service, has recorded yet another busy year.

It deals with a range of issues, including victims of domestic violence, child sex abuse, victims of sex assaults, victims of stalkers and people with emotional problems.

The centre is the only support group on the Island that has qualified counsellors on 24-hour call to assist victims of sexual assault, as and when the incident is reported.

They accompany the victim to hospital, and assist them throughout hospital tests and Police interviews, and are on hand with advice and counselling until the victim is able to move ahead on their own.

During the last year, the centre had more than 300 clients, most of them women, nine of them men. That total figure worked out at about the same as 2000.

The average age of the women who visited the centre were between 30 and 39, the majority of them were single, but have one to two children.

Most of the women also lived in rented accommodation and the majority were part of the Bermuda workforce.

Ms Dill added: "Looking at our statistics, the highest number of women came in to the centre this year after experiencing problems as a result of being molested as a child. They wanted counselling, even though it was many years on.

"The next highest figure was domestic violence - that can be anything from physical, psychological and emotional abuse.

"And the third highest figure was victims of sexual assault. We have not had as many sex assault victims this year as we did last, which is a good thing, but there have been some."

Ms Dill said despite the centre dealing predominantly with women, a number of men have also given to the cause throughout the year.