The Launch of our 10:10 Campaign

You've heard already that A Way Out have reached the grand age of 10 years old! Yes, for a decade we have been bringing hope, freedom and wholeness to those who need it most.

We have seen amazing things happen over the last 10 years; lives restored and made whole, people safely off the streets, exiting prostitution, free from addictions, safe and away from from abusive situations, in jobs, with homes, able to see their children.  We have come a long way from the humble beginnings in Jessie's Grandma's living room, where a small group of people committed themselves to bringing about change.

We celebrated the launch of our 10:10 campaign with our 10:10 dinner last Friday.

What about the next 10 years?

There is still injustice in the world, there are still people who need to be set free from their life controlling addictions, helped through recovery processes, made safe from abusive situations, protected from being at risk.

We have a vision for the next 10 years to continue to restore lives, and bring hope, freedom and wholeness!

John 10:10 in the bible says 'The thief comes in the night to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." We believe that all women and young people should be free to live healthy, whole and safe lives, free from addiction, poverty and abuse. We work to see this restored in the lives of the people we work with.  We take inspiration and hope from this verse in the Bible and the foundations of A Way Out are built on Christian principles, prayer and faith.

We already have an amazing family at A Way Out, a network of incredible volunteers, staff, partnering services, trustees, ambassadors and more who support, encourage, enable and develop the work of A Way Out so it can continue in the future.

We need this family to grow if we are to grow over the next 10 years.

These are some of the ways we intend to keep bringing love, hope and freedom:

• We want to give more young people someone they can turn to and trust through our mentoring initiatives. 
• We aim to help many more young women find a way out of sexual exploitation and life-controlling situations through to full recovery. 
• We want to develop our Community Wellbeing Hubs, distributing food parcels and engaging with those who feel at risk, isolated or vulnerable.
• We want to engage and help families develop positive routines and supportive relationships.
• We want to see more young people engaged in positive activities and making healthy life choices. 
• We want to speak out for many thousands more who are marginalised, vulnerable or at risk.
• We want to see people have access to A Way Out services in other towns and cities across the UK.

Our 10:10 Campaign

Our 10:10 campaign is all about is all about how a small amount regularly, can make all the difference. Perhaps you could volunteer 10 hours a month, tell 10 people about our services, host an event, book a speaker of ours, or you could contribute financially to make a huge difference.

• £10 a month Provides on evening street safety session a month on the streets of Stockton.
• £20 a month Supports one young person suffering with anxiety and low self-esteem to attend a 'Friends for Life' course. 
• £100 donation Enables one woman to access a group therapeutic session for 3 months as part of a recovery programme.
• £200 donation Provides 1 week of food and resources for our Food-plus scheme, supporting families that are most needy.

Join the family, and help bring life to the full!

Choose to find out more here: http://awayout.co.uk/whats-new/1010-campaign/

love from A Way Out x

This Post Needs No Introduction

Need I say more?

Love from A Way Out x

In the beginning...

You may have noticed that over the last couple of weeks we've been posting on YouTube an interview I did with Jessie, finding out a bit more about how A Way Out started and where is it going in the future. And you can now watch all three parts of the video right here:

Jessie talks her inspiration to found A Way Out and shares some of the stories that most impacted her decision.

So what happened next? How did the dream become a reality? How has it changed over the years?

And what's coming next?! A Way Out has an exciting future. Listen in to some of Jessie's dreams...

We don't think much more needs to be said here! Have a watch, get inspired and as always let us know what you think!

Love from A Way Out x

"The True Price of Alcohol"

Who else watched Inside Out North East and Cumbria on Monday night? 

It was a fascinating and worrying insight into the binge drinking culture of the North-East and the impact that this has on our health, the health of those around us and the strain it puts on the NHS. These are some of the scary statistics to come out of the program:

If you get a chance to watch it, you can follow the link to iplayer here but it will only to available until 8pm on Monday 16th January.

The program started off by focussing on the NHS and the way that its service is compromised by the number of alcohol-related incidents it has to deal with every year. It also discussed the issue of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a little know but serious condition which can cause a child to be born with life-long brain damage if the mother has been drinking whilst pregnant. Finally, Mike Parr from BBC Radio Tees undertook a one month fast from his usual 37 units of alcohol a week and went teetotal for the whole of December. When he began drinking again he found that his craving from alcohol had reduced and he was able to reduce his general intake per week.

There is so much more that I could say but the best thing is probably for you to watch this yourselves. It's only 30 minutes long and well worth it if you are concerned about the local culture of binge drinking, if you know someone who struggles to drink safely or if you yourself find this a difficulty.

This all seems like a lot of bad news but there is a way forward! A Way Out has been aware of this issue for a long time. We work with clients on a daily basis who struggle with binge drinking and we see complete transformation in their lives. At the end of November we employed a new member of staff whose role is to reach and support young women who are struggling to control their drinking habits. Partnering with local specialist organisations we provide the support needed to help these young women to reach their goals of safe, healthy and whole lives for themselves and their families.

If you would like to do something to help then there are so many ways in which you can support A Way Out so we can continue to transform Teesside. To find out more, visit our website.

Love from A Way Out x

Give a Gift this Christmas

Have you seen the John Lewis Christmas TV Advert yet this year? If not, you really should check it out, it makes for good viewing. (The link to Youtube is here.)

At A Way Out, we love giving gifts to our clients. We know that it means so much for them and, unlike this video, many of them don't have cosy homes and families to go to where there will be an abundance of presents under the tree.

You'll remember that in our last blog, we told you about our plans for Christmas this year, to bring hope and love this year. Although we are doing everything that we told you about in that blog, we have not received the number of donations of gifts that we were expecting. This means that some people will be going without gifts this year. We really, really do not want this to happen!

If you think you could help us and make such a difference to the lives of at risk and vulnerable women and young people then there are a few ways you can do this:

1. Buy a gift for a woman, teenage girl or teenage boy and drop it off at The Gate, 1-2 Castlegate Quay, The Riverside, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1BZ

2. Donate directly to A Way Out via http://www.justgiving.com/Jessie-Jacobs0

3. Text 'LOVE92 £5' to give £5 which will use to buy a present for somebody.

Thank you so much for reading this.

Love from A Way Out x

How I Found A Way Out

This is the audio track mentioned on our last blog. It doesn't need much introduction, just give it a listen, it gives an amazing insight into the difference A Way Out can make to young peoples' lives, told by those who have experienced it first hand.

If you have been moved by hearing these stories and want to help make a difference then there are lots of ways to get involved. Visit our website to find out about volunteering, fundraising or giving.

Love from A Way Out x

Keeping Hold of the Vision

This morning at A Way Out, all the staff and volunteers took part in a vision morning. It was the first of the year and was a brilliant opportunity to review what A Way Out is doing currently, to think about where we want to be headed in the future and how we might get there.

We started off by watching this video together to remind ourselves why A Way Out exists. It's well worth watching all the way through.

One thing that really stood out in the presentations and discussions was the unique position that A Way Out holds in the community and charity sector. It has been a very challenging time for charities recently and many are losing staff or closing their doors all together. We are so grateful that we haven't had to implement these changes and that we are able to continue to reach out to vulnerable women and young people in and around Stockton despite trying financial times.

A second thing that struck me about A Way Out was the commitment that the team will be there for people no matter what and they will never give up on someone. A Way Out aims to see a full recovery to wholeness for every person it works with and we never lose hope in that aim despite working with chaotic clients who can often relapse. This attitude is illustrated in one of Jessie's blogs which she read out to us this morning. You can read it here. 

We're really excited about what the future holds for A Way Out. Over the next few years we want to go deeper, grow wider and reach higher as we move into a new stage of life for our charity. We hope you'll want to follow along with us.

Love from A Way Out x