Outreach

The Magdalene Group delivers an outreach service, where a team of three Volunteers/Staff  go out in the red light area of Norwich to  meet with the street based sex workers in order to get to know the women and try to build up a relationship. We invite the women into our regular drop-in sessions where we can begin to work with them more intensively when they are ready. Outreach is also a way to offer the women on- the-spot help, harm reduction advice, information on services, condoms and especially a hot drink and a chat to show them we care.

 

Drop In

The Drop-in service is open three afternoons per week, where we provide a safe and positive place that offers a hot lunch, a meeting place, a listening ear, support and friendship. Here the more intensive work can begin in building up positive relationships which is key in order for the woman to want to engage with our service. Time spent over lunch, doing craft sessions, enjoying pampering afternoons or just chatting over coffee prove invaluable, as are the more focussed one to one intervention where we address individual issues and provide support in overcoming the barriers they face such as drug and alcohol addictions, mental health issues, abuse and homelessness. This process can take many years and often with low self-worth and addiction it is difficult for the women to find the strength to leave and these issues can keep them trapped in prostitution. Many women who use our service remain working in street based sex work and our support is offered to help them mange their often very chaotic day to day lives.

 

Prison Visiting

Women prisoners who have been involved in prostitution 
enter prisons with multiple needs.   The prison service has established nine pathways in order to address these  complex issues. Pathway leads develop links and 
maintain information on organisations or networks that 
can help. The Magdalene Group has established 
excellent links with HMP Peterborough working with the
Pathway 9 Lead who is responsible for supporting 
women Prisoners who have been involved in Prostitution.
  Visiting once a month to build relationships with the
 women that can then be continued on release into the 
community. Identifying the individual needs of the client 
to help support them through the often bewildering time
of release, when they are faced with making decisions 
and working with a range of agencies to identify suitable accommodation, accessing government 
benefits and looking at training and employment needs.
  The Magdalene Group also visits women from Norfolk 
who are serving their sentences in other prisons 
around the country.

Befriending

A key new area of our service is to offer one to one befriending with women either still working in sex work, exiting or on release from prison. Loneliness and breakdown of family contact is so high and these interactions help to strengthen relationships with the women in order to help facilitate and reinforce positive changes in their lifestyles, meeting in coffee shops also helps enable them to feel confident in everday settings and promotes social inclusion. A move-on group has also been established where on a monthly basis we invite the clients who have stopped using Class A drugs to the cinema or a meal – an enjoyable evening for clients, staff and volunteers!