How it works
Working closely with Gtr. Manchester Police, Social Services and the NHS, our specialist support worker engages with women who are at risk on the street. She also works with women in a massage parlour. Here we were able to provide sexual health, welfare and harm reduction support sessions on a 6 weekly basis. The service is funded by Bolton Council’s Community Safety and Neighbourhoods Section and from charitable donations.
In this work, the critical support provided by our project is often needed and wanted by women over many years before changes for the better can be realised. We often find that prostitution is the result of other issues in their lives. So, in helping them address the ‘sex work’ problem, many of the women we see are helped with health, drug, alcohol, finance, benefits and debt issues. Where appropriate, we help the women address issues of attitude, thinking and behaviour. We also help them with training, employment and accommodation needs.
For more information about Reach Out and the service it provides, please use our Contact Us page.
Outcomes
Reach Out has been instrumental in the dramatic reduction of street prostitution in Bolton over recent years – down from 170 known individuals in 2003 to the low numbers we see today. 44 women with a known sex working issue or risk were newly referred to us last year. We continued to work with 16 women who we were already supporting at the start of the year. During the course of the year we were able to close files on 8 women whose specific needs had been met.
In addition, our specialist support worker engaged with a further 17 ‘at risk’ women working in parlours. Our work within the parlour included giving housing advice and discussions to identify highly vulnerable / trafficked women.
In feedback we collected from service users over the last year, 100% said they were satisfied (or better) with the service we provided. Some of the comments made were:
“My Reach Out worker is always there for me when I need her. She understands all my needs and gives support, patience, and knowledge.”
“They have helped me for years, stood by me all through the bad times, always there for me when I need them and knows all about my needs.”
