In brief: Her Code, a Jersey initiative founded to help women build friendships and combat loneliness, has secured registered charity status. The organisation has already held 15 community events attracting more than 150 attendees, and has built an online following of over 1,000 women on Instagram.
From Initiative to Charity
Making friends as an adult is, let’s be honest, one of life’s quietly underrated challenges. Moving to a new island, becoming a parent, changing careers or navigating the end of a relationship can leave even the most sociable person feeling adrift. Her Code, founded by Darcy Twohig-Jones, was set up specifically to address that reality for women and girls in Jersey, and it has now taken the significant step of becoming a registered charity.
The organisation creates opportunities for women to connect through social activities and community events, with a stated aim of providing a welcoming, judgement-free space for meeting new people and developing lasting friendships. According to the Jersey Evening Post, Mrs Twohig-Jones said that achieving registered charity status would help the organisation reach more women across the island.
“Making friends as an adult shouldn’t feel intimidating, and no woman should feel unsafe or alone on our island,” she said. “Becoming a registered charity allows us to expand our reach, create more safe spaces, and build a stronger, more connected community for women and girls across Jersey.”
The Numbers Behind the Need
Her Code was not founded on sentiment alone. The initiative emerged against a backdrop of genuine concern about both loneliness and personal safety among women in Jersey, and the statistics cited in the Jersey Evening Post’s report make for sobering reading.
The Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce report found that eight in ten women in Jersey have taken steps to change their routines or avoid public spaces because of concerns about their safety. Meanwhile, survey findings indicate that one in four adults in Jersey frequently experience loneliness. Statistics Jersey’s Opinions and Lifestyle Survey found that more than 40% of Islanders aged between 16 and 34 reported feelings of social isolation.
Those are not trivial figures. Social isolation carries well-documented consequences for mental and physical health, and a community as small and tightly networked as Jersey’s can, paradoxically, make it harder rather than easier for newcomers or those going through life changes to find their footing socially.
What Her Code Actually Does
Since launching, Her Code has organised 15 community meet-ups and events, drawing more than 150 attendees. Activities have included community walks, brunches, pilates sessions, arts and crafts and social evenings. The Jersey Evening Post reports that participants have described forming lasting friendships, feeling less isolated, trying new activities and becoming more confident in social situations.
The charity has also built a meaningful online presence, with more than 1,000 followers on Instagram and more than 150 women connecting through its WhatsApp group. For an island of Jersey’s size, those numbers represent a genuine community rather than a vanity metric.
Registered charity status is more than a badge of honour. It opens doors to grant funding, formal partnerships and greater organisational credibility, all of which should help Her Code deliver on its ambition to expand its reach across the island.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
