Sometimes a song can invoke strong emotions – especially when lyrics echo a chorus of truth.
A Way Out’s Liberty team engage and support some of
Stockton’s most vulnerable women, those who are involved the darker side of the
town’s nocturnal economy. It is a
challenging job, with highs and lows, changing dynamics and a polyphony of
individual life experiences – with one central theme. A theme very similar to a song from one of my
favourite musicals, Les Miserables. I
cannot fail to think of A Way Out’s clients when I hear the song’s opening
words “There was a time when men were kind, When their voices were soft, And
their words inviting ,There was a time when love was blind, And the world was a
song, And the song was exciting, There was a time…
Then it all went wrong”.
When life hits a discord for the women with whom we work the
impact can be powerful with effects resounding
in multiple aspects of their life, impacting their mental and physical health,
housing, financial security and ultimately their very future existence. 
As the song plays on so does their story…. “But the tigers come at night, With their
voices soft as thunder, As they tear your hope apart, As they turn your dream
to shame”. Powerful words, but even
these lyrics do not fully express the scale and reality of what women face
while in the grips of addiction and exploitation. When we initially engage with
these women we see their plight reflected in the lyrics “I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed, Now life has killed the dream I dreamed”.
A Way Out exists to resurrect those dreams, restore and
build upon a chord of hope, change the dynamics and create a new rhythm. A Way
Out creates a new song for vulnerable women in Stockton, one of hope and a
stable future.
You can support our work – for further information please go
to www.awayout.co.uk or contact us on
01642 655071.
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