“I have a future, dreams and more choices. They saved my life!”
2016/17
Who we are One25 helps vulnerable women in Bristol to step away from street sex work. This last year we continued to support 63 women who had made amazing steps away from sex work, violence, homelessness and addiction. Working alongside women at high risk, 39 were prevented from entering street sex work. And 37 incredible women took bold choices this year to exit street sex work and to build safe, healthy lives. In a year of significant change, we said goodbye and thank you to Gill for her many years of service and welcomed Anna Smith as our new CEO. We have worked hard to make One25 stronger and more sustainable and Anna joined a restructured team with several new staff. We were delighted to be chosen to host the Pause Bristol pilot programme, now provided by a new team of five staff based nearby in St Agnes Church. We live in challenging times, with cuts to services and funding compounded by increasing need. Meanwhile, with your support, One25 has maintained quality services. Your generosity and compassion, and the energy and commitment of staff and volunteers, make it possible for women to transform their lives. As Netty says:
“This service is invaluable. I have a future, dreams and more choices. I NEVER dreamt of this four months ago. They saved my life!� Thank you for helping to build and sustain One25.
Mary McGinty, Chair of Trustees
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Sophie Admasu, Laura Chesham, Dave Day, Richard Drake, Chris Fairhead, Wendy Goodwin, Philip Jinadu, Nicola Plant, Stephen Rixon, Eleanor Sumner, Sandra Sykes, Val Thompson, Helen Wilde. Biographies online at one25.org.uk/trustees
What we do In 2016-17 we worked with 227 women through outreach, drop-in, casework and in the community. We meet each woman where she is, at her point of need. Success looks different for every woman; we are alongside each on her journey.
Creative & social activites
Safe housing
CH EA TR O
U
IN
P-
RO
Safe pregnancy & child care
RK O
EW
Safety from violence and abuse Reduced oending
PA O RT UR N ER S
Healthy family relationships
S CA
Support out of abusive relationships
D
Recovery from addiction
Better health
Improved wellbeing
Life and job skills
why we do it We met 127 women street sex-working last year. They are among the most vulnerable people in Bristol. Their situations are desperate and they can find it next to impossible to get the kind of help from family or society that many of us take for granted.
99% are addicted to drugs/alcohol Last year, 60 got on the road to recovery from addiction
Women street sex-working are 12 times more likely to be murdered 72 women received care after an attack, including support to testify against their attacker
Almost all have been abused as children 56 women improved relationships with safe members of their family
A third of the women we work with are care-leavers, a third left school before the age of 14 and 59% have no qualifications 26 women started volunteering, 4 started courses and 2 got jobs!
31 were in prison 63 made life changes to reduce their offending behaviour
80% are homeless 139 women have been in stable accommodation
92% are malnourished Volunteers gave out 2,289 meals to 156 women in need
outreach The outreach van provides immediate support for women street sexworking in Bristol, going out late into the night. 127 women used the van in the last year. It’s often the first point of contact and becomes a step towards a healthier life, free of addiction, malnourishment and coercion.
new this year
Installed fourth seatbelt
Clean needle kits
Freephone contact number
“When I was on the streets it was only because of the outreach van that I had food most days.” Corinna
“Tonie came to drop-in suffering psychosis. She had sore feet and badly infected toes. We were able to gain her confidence and take her to A&E where her she got treatment for her feet and a mental health assessment. However, as her psychosis was drug-induced, she was not eligible for further support from the hospital. She was homeless, with nowhere to go.” Alexis, ACE caseworker
drop-in Drop-in is a women-only space of safety where a whole range of services are immediately available. It opens Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, fostering a culture of respect and harmony. “Women often present in crisis: from overdosing to having nowhere to sleep. Our Homeless Health Service GP, Dr Annie, has said she has never been so busy. This reflects an increased need for services in Bristol. “Drop-in offers a consistent presence. Change is a challenge for anyone and individual journeys can take many twists and turns. Wherever they’re at, we’re pleased to see women and break bread with them.” Rachel Mac Dermot, drop-in coordinator
117 women trusted us enough to visit drop-in
TV Telephone Internet Friendship Creativity Casework Health Hot food Laundry Clothes Haircuts Showers
“Tonie was about to be discharged from hospital. We knew she was extremely vulnerable and homeless. We managed to collect Tonie and take her to the Spring of Hope women’s refuge, where a warm welcome was waiting. Without the van Tonie would have been back out on the street, vulnerable and without shoes. The next day we helped her with her medication and longer-term housing options.” Sophie Banks, housing support caseworker
casework Caseworkers in six specialisms met an increased need, working with 172 women. They offer flexible, seamless support alongside partner services in Bristol and beyond. Casework is underpinned by our ethos of never judging women, never ceasing to offer love, never shutting the door. Often women’s lives have been filled with exploitation so caseworkers help them to take ownership, identify the changes they want to make and then support them to achieve these goals.
First visit to drop-in. Greeted by friendly workers, given a hot meal, met GP and discovered pregnancy.
Netty’s journey with one25
Accompanied
by Recovery Caseworker to appointments and supported through the process.
Met with Housing Support Caseworker
Accompanied to
and helped into
court by Criminal
secure housing.
Supported by Recovery Caseworker to get on a script and then to apply for funding rehab.
Justice Caseworker to sort arrest warrant for a former offence.
“The more I went to One25 the more strength I found. And I felt that we were working as a team, I felt like we were doing this together.” Netty
Other support available IDSVA: The independent domestic and sexual violence adviser supports women with trauma and prosecuting violent perpetrators. ACE: The Assertive Contact and Engagement mental health caseworker builds relationships with women who would normally struggle to access mainstream mental health services. Golden Key: The specialist women’s caseworker embedded at One25 feeds good practice from here into the Golden Key research project.
Attending drop-in throughout. Taking drug tests, keeping busy with creative activities to focus on recovery.
Completed rehab and reunited
eautiful Gave birth! B to baby taken in er st temporary fo rehab. care. Went to
with baby!
Return visits during rehab. Met caseworkers in permitted contact times with baby.
Read Netty’s story on page 16
Now in own home with baby. Taking part in support groups and building a new life.
In the community Bristol Life Awards One25’s CEO Anna said “We were honoured to be a finalist for the Charity of the Year Award in recognition of our support to vulnerable and often forgotten women in Bristol.”
Brislington WI After hearing staff member Polly give a talk, members of Brislington WI were inspired to bake delicious homemade birthday cakes for individual One25 women. Needless to say, they’ve gone down a storm! “The women of Brislington WI have taken the women of One25 to their hearts. Every member has the opportunity to make a direct and personal contribution. We feel privileged to be raising money, awareness and cake!” Liz Lister, President of Brislington WI
My One25 Miles Trustee Eleanor Sumner joined 29 other fabulous supporters to take on this brand new One25 challenge to complete 125 miles. They walked, ran, swam, and cycled to raise a whopping £15,000! Eleanor said “I had incredible support from my friends, family and work colleagues who all wanted to know more about One25 and all donated generously once they heard.”
Aviva Employees baked cakes, held raffles and cycled a sponsored 125 miles on exercise bikes in the foyer of the Aviva building! “This is a fantastic local charity that we felt should be nominated for our support. We were over the moon that the employees at Aviva Centre chose One25!” Amanda Robinson, Aviva Centre Charity Committee
Things We Do Not Know Bristol University students performed a powerful piece of verbatim theatre, educating hundreds. Director Kate Wyver said “Hearing the women’s words is incredibly moving but we’ve been amazed by the great reaction to the show.”
Vision for the Vulnerable For a second year we’ve had meetings with Beloved, Unseen and Spring of Hope (local charities serving vulnerable women) to pray together and share our vision for the future. Wonderful! “It’s all about unity, friendship and love – a powerful event for everyone.” Val Thompson, One25 trustee and Spring of Hope project leader
Behind the scenes It’s been another jam-packed year at One25. Lots has changed but our dedication remains. Thanks to a sustainability project we’re now better equipped to continue meeting women’s needs in the years ahead.
Upholding One25’s core values is a top priority to ensure that our work is person-centred, non-judgemental, truthful and supports justice. We offer unconditional love, provide compassion and never give up on women.
Partnerships remain key. From Bristol Drugs Project on our night van to Homeless Health Service at drop-in, working with partners provides seamless support when it’s most needed.
We’ve made improvements to our centre. Joining our two buildings has helped to bring the team together, and drop-in now has a fit-forpurpose kitchen as well as new windows to make it extra cosy!
Our staff team has grown and changed with new faces bringing fresh ideas and new skills, but always the same boundless energy to make life better for the women.
And we’ve improved our monitoring and evaluation systems so we can better understand what works for women and shape our services to best meet their needs.
These elements will deliver expert help to vulnerable women in Bristol and support each one on her journey in the coming year.
our mission together Street sex work is only a choice when women have no alternatives. What most often leads women to work the streets is a lifetime of abuse, lack of opportunity, poor or no family support, debt and eviction. It is a life that risks their wellbeing and which requires an enormous amount of support to leave. We need to ensure that street sex work is better understood. There can be real change when people begin to know about the vulnerabilities women face and the realities of their survival. Raising awareness is a big part of what we do, at all levels, from sitting on city-wide strategy boards to training other practitioners and speaking to local community groups. One25 is working with Beloved, Unseen and I.SAVVIE - three Bristol partners working with vulnerable women in different elements of sex work. Our collective ambition is to create a South West consortium to influence partners and funders and coordinate our ongoing responses to poverty, drug use and unsafe housing. For the first time we’re recruiting women with lived experience of receiving support services (of any kind) as ‘support assistant volunteers’. They’ll work with service users to develop meaningful activity and find out how they want to progress. They’re bringing experience and empathy. In return the role will give them relevant work experience where there might have been barriers to employment. One25’s key goal for the next three years is to provide really coherent, linked-up support to vulnerable women. Thank you so, so much to those of you who also play a part in our mission. Women break through barriers, transforming their lives, and it is amazing. Anna Smith CEO, One25
Pause bristol One25 is delighted to be hosting Pause Bristol - a pilot programme working with women who have had two or more children removed from their care. It supports women to break the devastating cycle of having children removed.
127 women 420+ children
Pause Bristol is being funded by Bristol City Council and Pause. At the time Pause Bristol launched in June 2017 there had been 127 women over the last five years who’d had more than 420 children removed from their care. The Pause model aims to break the cycle of repeat removal by intervening at a point when the women have no children in their care, and offers them a chance to take a pause from the usual periods of chaos, anger and reaction to care proceedings. Practitioners in the Bristol pilot will work with 20 women, helping them to focus on themselves with the purpose of supporting them to take control of their lives and to develop new skills and responses.
One25 was chosen to host the Pause Bristol pilot programme because of its existing expertise. The issues affecting street sex-working women are identifiable with most of those affecting the women who meet criteria to benefit from Pause Bristol: domestic and/or sexual violence; childhood trauma; learning difficulties; being care leavers themselves; mental health issues; addiction; and/or having a history of offending.
“We fully anticipate the success of the pilot and we know many more women need this service.� Anna Smith, CEO
0 ,60 23 £1
Outreach
£73,3
00
£8300
Casework support Pause Bristol Sustainability
TO
Raising funds
TA
£2 98 ,30 0
Drop-in centre
£213,800
L= £ 8 0 1,4 0 0
,200 £997 = L TA
58
£34,900
£1
£7,400
0
0 ,5
,0
00
£553,400
TO
£84 ,10 0
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
£
3 24
Donations Grants Commissioned income Fundraising events Raising funds
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred pounds. For One25’s statutory accounts for 2016/17 please visit www.one25.org.uk.
netty's story
“I started with weed - then party drugs. My first proper boyfriend was a violent crack-dealer. When I was pregnant the drugs weren’t noticed, but the bruises were. The relationship broke down and I turned to heroin. I had a baby, and felt so guilty. She was sent into care. For years, day in day out, I used drugs. I had a serious problem.”
Drug agencies helped, but I really needed support to deal with my childhood trauma and domestic violence. I stayed clean for three years but when I couldn’t get my daughter back I relapsed. I got into selling drugs, shoplifting, and finally street work. I remember standing in Portland Square one night, crying. I was cold, hungry and rattling [withdrawing]. I wanted to end it all. Then I moved away from Bristol and got pregnant again. I thought the new baby would fix everything. I was housed and on a script but I couldn’t cope. My second baby was put into care. At home, I couldn’t touch her clothes and toys. Contact with my children was too painful so I stopped and my drug habit just spiralled. After a spell in prison, I was in a Bristol squat, with no food, shower or clean clothes. A girl in the squat suggested One25’s drop-in. I felt so lost and lonely, but at One25 no-one was judging me. People asked genuinely “Are you alright?” There I found out I was pregnant again and I just howled on the doctor’s shoulder. I thought, “I’ve got two girls in care, I’m in a squat, I’m flat out on drugs.” But I felt the love from One25. One day I went in and just broke down. I felt like a child. I didn’t know where to begin. Jane became my caseworker and surrogate mum. My God, the ball started to roll! One25 helped me get a methadone script and emergency housing. They got up early to attend court with me. Helped me process the child protection conferences. Encouraged me to take up crafts. Helped me contact my family. Yeah, it was amazing! One25’s belief in me made me feel human. I went into labour early and my first visitors were caseworkers Jane and Sophie, bringing new clothes for the baby and me. Jane took pictures, and they shared my joy. One25 supported me through rehab and now my child and I have our own home. I’m clean: I wake up and my baby’s smile reminds me what it’s all about. Today I can think – yeah, that happened - but every day I’m clean I’m doing something to rectify it. Now I walk down the street with my head up. I’m thinking about further education, even starting a small business, but for now I want to spend time with my baby, find out who I am and get into the rhythm of life. I’m getting there.
volunteering One25 provides full-scale life-saving services for women in Bristol. This is possible because of the 193 amazing volunteers who gave over 7,700 hours last year, working on the frontline and behind the scenes, committing their time month by month. Some are local, some from further afield. Their commitment and passion is astounding, and their impact on the women is immeasurable: keeping them safe, making sure they know how much they are respected and cared for, building their confidence and simply listening.
Lottie Bramley
Liz Warbutton
Gary Edwards
Clothes Donations Sorter “When women pick out clothes at drop-in I like to think that it’s like going
Prayer Volunteer “I have been praying for One25 for the last 20 years. It is a privilege to journey with women through their highs and lows.”
Drop-in Cook “I feel part of a community, bringing support to women that can lead to a much brighter future.”
shopping - normal and fun!”
“I felt warmth and love for the first time in a very long time… I knew I could trust them. “ Hannah
HELP END STREET SEX WORk for good You can make a real difference to women like Netty today. Give hope that a different life is possible.
£25 CAN GIVE
£5
£15 CAN GIVE
CAN GIVE
NOURISHMENT
COURAGE
A LIFELINE
A CARE PACK FOR A
A WEEK’S FREEPHONE
A HOME-COOKED MEAL
BRAVE WOMAN GOING
CALLS TO THE
FOR A HUNGRY WOMAN
INTO REHAB
OUTREACH VAN
IN DROP-IN
Whatever you can afford, are you someone who will stick with these women, month after month, faithfully fighting for change? If so, please start a monthly gift online at one25.org.uk. Thank you.
Did you know, we have a free pack to help you write a will? Contact us and we’ll happily post one out.
The Grosvenor Centre, 138A Grosvenor Road, Bristol, BS2 8YA tel: 0117 909 8832 fax: 0117 941 2382 email: office@one25.org.uk online: www.one25.org.uk facebook.com/one25charity @one25charity youtube.com/one25tv one25 is registered as a charity. Reg. No. 1062391. Registered office: The Grosvenor Centre, 138a Grosvenor Road, St. Pauls, Bristol BS2 8YA. Design & Production: nicjonesdesign.com