A Big THANK YOU to our Intern!

Danika outside the office building

This is Danika, our wonderful intern! Danika completes her year-long internship with us this week. We are so sad to see her 'flee the nest', but excited for her future.

Danika is originally all the way from Australia, and so has had an interesting year living in the mildly cooler North-East.  We interviewed Danika this week to find out what she thought about A Way Out and the voluntary year she has just spent with us. Read on for the interview!

When did you first hear about A Way Out?

I'm from Australia and I've wanted to do some missionary work for some time. When I felt it was the right time to go, I felt God call me to England, so I booked tickets and flew here!

When I first arrived in England in January 2012, I met a pastor there who used to live in Teesside. As they talked about Teesside, it jumped out right away to me and I knew it was somewhere I wanted to visit. I went to Stockton to visit the church that the pastor used to run. After hearing my story, the church in Stockton recommended that I speak to Jessie, which is the first time I heard about A Way Out! It all went from there, really.

What first drew you to want to volunteer with A Way Out and do the Internship?

I met with Jessie first of all and told her my story of why I came to England and what I wanted to do. I was looking to be trained 'on the job' or in an internship. Jessie was surprised, and said they had just begun advertising for the A Way Out Internship, so my visit was perfect timing!  I was shown around the building and met the staff. It sounded really good, so I begun the internship!

How long have you been a part of A Way Out now?

1 year! The internship has been a year long, and it ends this week.

What sort of activities have you been involved in since you came here?

Youth and Community Outreach

I think I've helped on every project over the year!  Mostly, I've been working with women and youth client work. I've been supporting drop-ins and been involved in pop-up youth club since the beginning.

I've also been involved in Roadshows for colleges, such as alcohol-awareness and have been regularly attending prayer meetings in the prayer room at A Way Out.

What are the key things you feel you have learnt since being a part of A Way Out?

Facepainting for outreach days

I am much more confident in building relationships and repor with people. I've learnt how to run drop-ins and run youth clubs. I feel confident talking to people from youth to vulnerable women and I feel I have built up relationships over the past year.

I think I've got to grips with North East culture more quickly too, since working here. It's very different to what I'm used to.  I now feel that I am a part of things, and I've 'learnt the lingo'.

Do you have a heart for any of the activities you've been a part of in particular?

Community building

I really love youth work, especially on Port Clarence. There is unique community there, and the kids are really special. The youth team has changed a lot over the year, but it's a great team that I love being a part of!

I also enjoy the office 'banter'...

What would you say to any future long-term volunteers for A Way Out?

You have to be flexible and open minded, because working with different types of people means that things can change, often!

You have to be able to do 3 different accents... that's a standard minimum requirement...

Finally, you need to have fun to work here. The staff are really fun, and the clients are fun too, even when life is serious and things are difficult for them. It's really enjoyable to engage with people, even in difficult times.

What's next for you after the internship? 

I've been living on an estate in Thornaby, where I want to stay and be involved with the community there. I want to help the kids club in Thornaby, and I've been starting up a homework club that I want to continue. I want to continue partnering with A Way Out and I might have something to do with the Community Hubs that will be setting up soon.

I'm excited to see what God fills the gap with!

Danika and Volunteer Coordinator, Kate

We at A Way Out are thrilled that Danika has been such a supportive, long-term volunteer with us over this past year and we are deeply sad that she's moving on to pastures new!  Thank you, Danika for all you've done over the past year!

Our life-changing work really couldn't continue without the help of our wonderful volunteers. If you would like to volunteer with us here, then get in contact with Kate, our wonderful Volunteer Coordinator. We have plenty of opportunities from just an hour a week, and are sure to find something that will suit you.

With love from A Way Out x

Cakes, Creativity & a Call to Act!

This week we held our first ever Afternoon Tea networking event at Crathorne Hall. This was a fantastic opportunity to get a group of people together over some delicious cakes to find out more about each other and the work of A Way Out. We had six stalls from local businesses including Jamie at Home, Temple Spa, Vintage Vogue and Peaceful Prints. There was a change to browse for bargains, meet new people and enjoy an amazing spread of food! And we also had a dynamic floristry demonstration by Adam Prest as we nibbled our desserts!

As you can see it was quite a special event!

We wanted to provide an opportunity to introduce some of our friends to one another and also to let people know a little more about A Way Out and the way in which they can support the work we do in Stockton. 

The reality is that while we were enjoying tea and cakes in a beautiful stately home, A Way Out was hosting a food parcel drop-in at our centre, handing out fruit, vegetables, bread and tins to those who otherwise might not have had a meal that evening.

For the price of a ticket to our event, a girl could have sold her body for sex on the streets that evening. Maybe several times. 

This powerful video tells a bit more of the story:

It's great to run these events and it is so so important that people hear about the need in Teesside and the work of A Way Out but it comes as quite a shock to realise the levels of inequality that exist in our society.

If you are interested in finding out more about A Way Out and how you can help then please visit our website or drop by the centre sometime (directions are here), we'd love to meet you.

Love from A Way Out x

Home-made Sandwiches Delivered to Your Door

Our Cave Cafe has been up and running for a couple of years now and our new Cafe Manager has given the the place a brand new lease of life.

The vision of the cafe is to provide a place of safety and refuge where at-risk women and young people can just come and be. This is somewhere where people can have a meal, a chat and hang out with friends. Every Wednesday afternoon there is a hot meal provided for £2 such as curry and rice or shepherds pie.

The Cave is also a venue for group activities such as our annual Christmas meals, Thursday late-night drop-in and youth groups.

But the Cave Cafe isn't just for those who access our services. It's open to anyone and everyone who'd like to drop by for a home-made baguette, a slice of freshly baked brownie or a nice warming drink. We also have a sandwich delivery service that visits local businesses with our tasty produce.

Are you interested? Give us a call on 01642 655071 to arrange a delivery.

Love from A Way Out x

Alcohol Awareness Week

Hospital admissions linked to alcohol use have more than doubled in the UK over the last 10 years to over 200, 000 last year and there has been a 20% increase in GP's making prescriptions for alcohol dependence in the last 4 years.

Around 95% of alcoholics die from their disease and approximately 26 years earlier than their normal life expectancy.

Drunk driving is responsible of approximately 50% of motorway deaths.

A study of 11 and 12 year old school kids showed that those who demonstarted an awareness of beer ads, held more positive beliefs about drinking and intended to drink more frequently when they grow up.

A Way Out exists to reach out to vulnerable and at risk women and young people which includes those who suffer from alcohol addiction and those at risk of alcoholism so these issues are high on our agenda. This week is Alcohol Awareness Week and so our project workers have been devoting themselves especially to raising awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse in schools, colleges and at our own centre, The Gate.

Yesterday at The Gate during our Wednesday drop-in, rooms were set up with various activities around awareness of alcohol and how to drink safely and responsibly. There were alcohol worksheets and quizzes testing the girls' knowledge on alcohol consumption and safe habits as well as the chance to make their own non-alcoholic cocktails and our fantastic staff led discussions on ways of lowering levels and keeping safe when drinking e.g. going out with people you can trust, not mixing drinks and sexual health when out drinking.

Driving in beer goggles!

Mixing up some safe cocktails

For advice on safe drinking you might like to visit:

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/
http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/
http://www.awayout.co.uk/how-we-can-help-you/

Love from A Way Out x

(Statistics taken from http://www.alcoholism-and-drug-addiction-help.com/alcoholism-statistics.html)

Something a little different...

Hi, my name is Niomi and I have been volunteering at A WAY OUT since October and  I honestly cannot describe how amazing it is. The staff are amazing, the clients are amazing and the work we all do together is amazing! Anyway, Whilst Jenny is off on her jollies, she has left me in charge of updating the blog and keeping all you readers up to date with the day to day happenings of A WAY OUT. So, let’s see how this goes…

Last week A WAY OUT was action packed as per, if not more so with preparations under way for the Total Warrior challenge! We were even lucky enough to be given the opportunity to take the girls from the community drop-in bowling thanks to 'Cash for Kids'. The community drop-in is a group which takes place every Wednesday for girls ages 16-21 as part of the recovery work we do here at AWO. This drop-in is a chance for our service users to integrate themselves back into the community within a safe and secure environment, where they are made to feel welcome and at home. 

Bowling is a brilliant activity to get the girls involved with. They have always thoroughly enjoyed it in the past and being away from the centre gives the girls a change of scenery, as well as the chance to have a go at something they may not have tried before.

The girls split up into 3 teams and wanted to add a bit of competition to the mix and see who could score the highest. Spirits were high throughout the day and there was plenty of laughter, smiles and team work! The joy element is an essential part to our work as much as the structured group sessions we put on. It helps those who are sometimes less fortunate or have never had the chance to JUST HAVE FUN! There is no better feeling than seeing our clients laughing, smiling and just enjoying themselves!

Love from A Way Out x