Beyond Existing came into existence after the first stage of a research project entitled The Needs of Older Women: Services for Victims of Elder Abuse and Other Abuse was undertaken by Jacki Pritchard and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation between 1997 and 2000.

During that time the project extended to include older men who had been abused. One of the key findings of the research project was that both older men and women said they wanted to meet other victims who had experienced abuse either in childhood or adulthood and they wanted to heal.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded a pilot study in 2000 to see whether support groups did work and this was how Beyond Existing started. Between 2000 and 2003 the organisation supported older people; in 2003 the remit of the organisation extended to work with anyone over 18 years of age.