LOVE HOPE FREEDOM
Changing Futures at A Way Out offers non-judgmental support for women and men who are, or have been, sexually exploited or are engaging in street sex work in Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland.
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Through our values of Love, Hope and Freedom, using a harm reduction, trauma informed approach, we offer 1:1 support with the voice of the person at the heart of what we do, working towards improving social, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Evidence shows that for many boys anger is the only acceptable emotion which is often used to cover a more powerful emotion such as sadness or shame. Being encouraged to suppress all other emotions can interrupt the emotional development of boys which can have a huge negative impact on their mental health. In general men report less depression than women but complete suicide at a much higher rate. There is a huge need for boys to be taught how to safely express all their emotions not only their anger.
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Through working in partnership with Dr Helen Williams of Sunderland University, a report has been pulled together to highlight the need for this work. This provides the evidence needed to strengthen our plans for a boy’s pilot to address this need.
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Please click the link to read the report:
PROFESSIONAL FEEDBACK
"Brothers who were extremely chaotic, are now settled and calm in the sessions"
It started from when I was young and still at school.
My first memory was when I tried to wake my mam up on the couch when she was spaced out. Shortly followed by memories of coming downstairs one Christmas morning to find several men in all states of undress sprawled out in the front room and all off their heads. I knew I had had some Christmas presents as I could see all the wrapping paper over the floor, these had been ripped open and obviously sold for drugs. My sister and I used to play with syringes, practicing injecting our arms as we were so used to seeing it around us.
Mam was never around for us, I found comfort going to talk to the men who used to stand outside. They would tell jokes and often would say they would look after me. They started to supply me with cigarettes, drink and take me to different houses. I didn’t like the houses as they were dark and cold and smelly. They kept telling me they would look after me. I did not dare tell mam and dad about the men.
Over the next few months more and more men appeared all mainly Kurds and Pakistani’s. They were giving me lots of drugs for free or I thought they were free. I often would come to not knowing what had happened to me or where I was. I think I knew that this was the point of no return. There were expectations put on me as the men now said that I owed them for the drugs. I now know I had been groomed. One day I am going to write a book about my life, about being groomed and being sexually exploited.
CASE STUDY
Updated August 2024