Nottingham-based charity, the “Jericho Road Project” (JRP), has been supporting women affected by the sex industry for almost 25 years.
JRP:
‘During this time, we have offered hope and restoration to hundreds of women through our Street Outreach, Prison Visiting and Resettlement, Drop-in sessions, and Befriending services.
‘Street Outreach, where we go out in our van three evenings a week, is a vital part of the support JRP offers. It is usually the place where initial contact is made with the women and where relationships of trust begin.
‘Jericho Road Project is launching a Winter Fundraising Campaign to focus on supporting the Street Outreach programme. The money will be used to sustain and develop this vital service and to help raise funds to replace the outreach van, which is coming to the end of its useful life, with maintenance costs spiralling to keep it safe on the road. We need something newer, and we anticipate it will cost around £40,000 to buy and equip a van.’
Project Manager Jane Taylor said, “We are hopeful that we will be able to update our Outreach van with the money we raise for our Street Outreach work, enabling us to extend our provision further and continue to offer this vital support service to the women who engage with us.”
JRP is funded by grants and fundraising, which help to keep our office lights on, but a significant donation of a van or money is needed to ‘keep our van headlights shining’.
One JRP service user said, “I used crack cocaine and I also worked as a sex worker. JRP had a van that would come around, and it would have hot drinks, food, and, most importantly, a friendly face and someone to speak to.” She continued, “[JRP] have always been steadfast in my life. And that, to me, meant a lot because people and places have always changed a lot for me, from childhood in the foster care system and into my adulthood… it meant a lot to have people that genuinely seem to love and care for you in that way, because I had never really experienced that.”
Can you help us by promoting our campaign and raising awareness of the plight of some of the most marginalised women in Nottingham?
Further Information
At the Jericho Road Project, we want to see women safe from coercion, violence, and abuse, where those involved in sex work have the option to exit the industry, overcoming constraints such as poverty, drug dependency, and abuses of vulnerability.
We work holistically and aim to help the whole person physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. We offer person-centred and trauma-informed support to women in Nottinghamshire. Furthermore, as a Christian charity, we believe in the dignity and value of all people, and we offer our support services to all women regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, background, ability, culture, or religious beliefs, with compassion and without judgment.
Project Manager Jane Taylor said, “The women we support are some of the most marginalised in our community, as well as the most resilient. Most women are battling a range of issues, including a history of past physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse, trauma (including within childhood), poverty, drug addiction, and homelessness. A significant number have experience of the care and criminal justice systems. The majority are drawn into selling sex as a means of survival, and moving forward with their lives without dedicated support is extremely difficult. Alongside these issues, they face a daily risk of violence and harm on the streets and are often judged, ignored, or side-lined. They face barriers to accessing services or finding routes out of sexual exploitation.”
Since January 2024, Jericho Road Project has carried out 64 Street Outreach sessions, supported over 39 different street sex workers, and had 191 contacts through the use of their van. They offer food, a hot drink, warm clothes, signposting to other services, a safe place to sit and chat, and prayer for those who would like it. JRP wants to continue this vital work and also expand it, but needs your help to keep the headlights shining!
To give to the JRP Street Outreach Fundraising Appeal, please visit: www.jerichoroad.org.uk/donate
