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

Introducing ... COACH!

We are excited to introduce to you a brand new project within A Way Out... COACH! Our coaching programme is the first of a number of projects in process of setting up which we will spotlight on the blog over the next few weeks and months. It's an exciting time of change for A Way Out, as we continue to grow and develop our services.

COACH stands for Creating Opportunities and Casting Hope, an inspiring title, and one we know it will live up to. The programme aims to provide one-2-one mentoring and support for young people between the ages of 12-25 years. We are currently in the process of recruiting Volunteer Mentors to match with young people we have had referred to the project.

What is a Volunteer Mentor?

Volunteer Mentors offer practical support, activities or coaching towards positive life goals for young people who are at risk of poor outcomes, often linked to drug or alcohol misuse, school exclusion, homelessness or other risky lifestyle situations.
Volunteer Mentors build relationships with young people they are partnered with through weekly one to one sessions, involving an activity, or just a coffee and a chat. As relationships develop, they can offer support in various ways; perhaps teaching life skills such as cooking, or advocating on their behalf.

It's a great opportunity to make a real difference to a young person's life.

Who Can Be a Volunteer Mentor?

We are looking for individuals who have the following:

• A passion for young people
• Reliability for appointments
• 1-2 hours a week free, for approximately 9 months (we expect each coaching relationship to last 6-18 months)
• Ability to listen
• Life Skills
• Enthusiasm
• A sense of humour!

What's the Point of COACH?

COACH is about releasing potential in the lives of young people. The aim is to explore what they are hoping to achieve in life, in both the short-term and the long-term and put an action plan in place to work towards these goals. The relationship can last for over a year and significant changes may take several months to achieve but the ultimate aim is for the young person to take responsibility for their own lives and pursue positive outcomes for themselves and those around them.

What Next?

If you're interested to find out more or to sign up, then contact Jeanna, our Coach Coordinator by either emailing her jeanna.spencer@awayout.co.uk, or calling the office phone (01642 655071), and asking to speak to Jeanna.

We already have referrals for young people, and we're looking to match them to the right individuals. We will give full coaching training on a regular basis to our Mentoring Volunteers and offer them all the support they need for this exciting opportunity.

With love from A Way Out x

When I Grow up...

I wonder what she's thinking?

I heard someone say once, that no child is ever born with a burning desire to be poor, or homeless, or addicted, or alone.

Instead, like little sponges, they are open to any possibility.

I wonder what she is dreaming of? Touching a white wall, blank with opportunity,what might be next for this little adult-in-the-making?

Maybe as she clutches her dolly she one day wants to be a mum. Maybe a doctor, an Olympic athlete, maybe a mountain climber or jet pilot. Maybe, just like her own mum wishes for her, she just wants to be happy.

She is someone's daughter.

Beautiful.

Full of potential.

Alive.

Life, as we know it, with its pressures, strains and decisions hasn't touched her yet.

She hasn't had to make the difficult choices as a teenager, or experience stress as a student, or mourn the loss of a loved one who has passed, or deal with the searing pain of abuse.

She hasn't caved to peer pressure and drunk the cheap cider.
She hasn't met a bloke whose words and charm are like addictive nectar.
She hasn't taken the drugs to numb the loneliness.
She hasn't rattled through the night as her body gets rid of the poison it now craves.
She hasn't broken promises she swore to her family she could keep.
She hasn't thought the things most of us will never understand.
She hasn't taken something at Christmas that will end her pain once and for all.

She isn't the reason our women's recovery workers began the New Year heartbroken.

You see, when we arrived back at work today we were greeted by the tragic news that a young woman known to our Women's Recovery team had died over the festive period. The details are yet unknown, but it would seem that the life-controlling struggles she has battled with for years have finally beaten her.

A young woman who had once stood, just like the little girl at the top of this page, clutching her doll and believing for happiness, has now gone.

Tears aside, this is why we exist.

We believe that all women, families and young people should be free to live healthy, whole and safe lives, free from addiction, poverty and abuse.

This tragedy does not mean what we do isn't working. It just means we need to work all the harder.

I saw this quote just this morning, after we had heard the sad news. It reminded me of the amazing team of staff and volunteers who serve tirelessly at A Way Out.

But particularly for the Women's Recovery workers who now need to pick themselves up and keep reaching out and rescuing other girls who need their help... this is for them. 

I think Mother Teresa expresses it best when she said: "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts there can be no more hurt, only more love."

The team here will keep loving. They will keep working long hours, they will keep advocating for women who need a voice, they will keep empowering volunteers to serve and make a difference in their communities, they will keep raising funds, keep believing in families labelled as troubled, they will keep journeying with young people, and keep telling broken, addicted, exploited and hurt women that there is hope.


And you can help us. If you want to join the A Way Out family by becoming a regular financial giver (just £10 a month can help us walk a girl off the streets and into recovery), a volunteer or if you would like to run a fundraising event for us, please email lindsay.bruce@awayout.co.uk.

We are believing that 2013 will be an amazing year for us - and for you. Be healthy, be blessed, and we'll see you soon,

with love from A Way Out.

New Year - New Shoes...

With only days left until the end of the year many of us will be thinking through our New Year Resolutions already. It's where we pledge to make a change, to do something different, that will shape our lives in the coming 12 months.

 

 

 

 

Now for some of us that may be a diet or a promise to get to the gym, for some of the people who access our services it could be a life-changing decision to journey with A Way Out to see their addiction broken once and for all.

 

But one pledge we received recently is so memorable we just had to share it with you.

 

Last month we launched our 10:10 Campaign to coincide with A Way Out's 10th birthday.

 

 To celebrate our first ten years we held a special dinner party at Destiny Centre in Norton. On the night we heard from our CEO Jessie Jacobs, we were taken through the journey so far, we heard the empowering scripture from John 10:10, 'the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I come to bring life and life to the full,' we heard incredible singers bring to life our story and the stories of some of women we have helped, and together we had an opportunity to become partners with A Way Out in becoming regular financial givers.

 

Chloe Gray singing 'Read All About It' at our 10:10 dinner party

 

 

Well, not only did 27 incredible people sign up to give £10 a month, not only did we receive around £2000 in cash gifts, but we also received a pile of pledges too. And among them was this very special promise...

 

                                                                                          

 

What's so incredible about this overwhelmingly generous gift, is that the road we have travelled from where it all began all those years ago, to seeing and helping more than 1200 people every year, is paved with stories just like this.

Whether it's people who give up their time to do a bag-pack, or local businesses who choose us to be their 'charity of the year', a women's group who run coffee mornings to raise funds for us, dance groups who stage events on our behalf, runners who do marathons in our name, service users who go on to volunteer, volunteers who go on to raise money, staff who work over and above - and you, reading our blog and joining us on the journey. It all adds up to an incredible story, with a new chapter being written by us together.

 

 

 

In actual fact, this pledge amounts to £800! And it's even more special because it was pledged by someone who volunteers with us. Thank you - you know who you are!

 

But when it comes to seeing lives changed every penny makes a difference. So we are always extremely grateful for all of you who say 'yes' when it comes to helping us.

 

And even in the last few weeks we have plenty of people to say thanks to.

To help us stage the dinner party without using much-needed funds from A Way Out's budget, Jewson, Naylors Chartered Accountants, Crathorne Hall, The Blackwell Ox and Barclaycard all sponsored the event.

 

Pastors Cath and Jonathan Harris gave us the use of Destiny Church, the room was beautifully decorated by amazing florist Adam Prest, as well as decor and table set up from Truly Madly Heavenly and Ruby Shoes.

 

We had PA and film support from Teesside University, David Coxon and Andy Rose, and Sean Johnson and James Head produced our incredible A Way Out 10:10 video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebhemesp4Rs).

 

Guests sitting down to enjoy the three-course dinner at the 10:10 Campaign launch

Following the event - and throughout recent weeks - the Christmas spirit seems to have caught up with many of you as we have been inundated with love and generosity time and again.

Thanks to Asda, in Portrack and Thornaby, for Christmas present donations and bi-monthly cash donations, to Destiny Church for the most beautiful donations of gift-wrapped 'smellies', to the students at All Saints School in Ingleby Barwick who donated these 30 beautiful hampers for our clients... and I'm sure there are many, many more of you to thank as the office is full of presents, wrapping paper and festive cheer!

It really has been an amazing year. But before we say goodbye and blog for the last time in 2012 I want to share one of my own personal highlights.

Popping downstairs one day I bumped into one of the girls who has been coming to A Way Out for some time. She was carrying shopping bags and looked exhausted.

"Where have you been?" I asked.
"Shopping," she said. "To get new shoes."

And from the bag she pulled plain, sturdy, black leather shoes.
They weren't fancy, they weren't glamorous, they were no good for anything that might happen on 'the streets'. But she was beaming about her new purchase.

I later learned she bought the shoes for her first 'real' job.

Your generosity throughout the last year has contributed to this one beautiful woman walk away from her past and into a future full of hope and possibility.

Merry Christmas,

with love,

from A Way Out xxx

What Could You Give this Christmas?

Christmas isn't always twinkling lights, plenty of food, presents, happy families and good news. Christmas-time can bring back difficult memories, and be a reminder of loneliness, homelessness, fear, sadness, desperation, debt. In the parade of lights, presents, gatherings and parties, let's remember those who are less fortunate and consider what we could do...

What Could You Give?

Many of the women and young people we work with can't afford to make Christmas special, or even buy their children a gift. Many of them are in desperate situations and Christmas-time is an added complication. We believe that Christmas is about good news; news of life and of freedom and of hope. We want to bless the women and young people we work with by giving them gifts. We are aiming to give out gifts to 100+ people. 

Could you help us bless them?

You could help us by donating £5 or £10 online to Just Giving, and putting 'Christmas Presents' in the reference, to do that just follow this link: DONATE A CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Alternatively, you could give by text. Just text love92 and the amount, ie love92 £10 to 70070 to donate £10 to A Way Out.

We are looking for presents suitable for women between 17-30, children aged 0-13 and teenagers. If you have a new present suitable, we would love it to be dropped off at our building, The Gate, unwrapped. Alternatively, Asda in Thornaby, they have a Christmas Trolley there ready to accept any gifts you are willing to donate. Thank you!


Here's some ideas...

• alarm clocks
• gift cards
• lend us your advantage card to spend the points at Boots!
• mini hairdryers
• double duvet set
• hot water bottle
• home decorations
• children's toys

We already have plenty of toiletries to give out, so any other gifts would be very welcome!

Many thanks to Destiny Church and Teesside University who are already doing collections for us.

If you would like to find out more, then get in touch with Sarah-Jane, who could give you a few more details. Every little helps - each £5 or £10 will bless an individual in need this Christmas.

Thank you.

Love from A Way Out x

*images thanks to seanmcgrath on Flickr, Roberto Tim on Flickr

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

A-AWO #womensupportwomen

Left to Right: Sarah-Jane Hill (fundraiser at AWO), Mandy Welland-Taylor and Karen Walker (from Truly Madly Heavenly), Ann Stonehouse (Chair of Assist Networking)

On the 10th October 2012, Assist Networking and AWO combined for a common force for an evening of ladies networking; women supporting women!

The aim of the evening was to spend time together meeting one another over tea, coffee and snacks, exploring the A WAY OUT building, the Gate, and exploring ideas of how women in Teesside can support our work here at A WAY OUT and support eachother.

The wonderful Mandy and Karen of Truly Madly Heavenly ran the evening, with support from our fundraising team. Their fantastic ideas led to a creative mood board session, where each woman had the chance to make a colourful display of ideas. The mood boards were made from magazine clippings, buttons, glittery glue and more, and everyone then presented their mood board on how to support A WAY OUT back to the group for feedback and development of ideas.

The vibe of the evening session was fantastic, the creativity of each person that joined was so encouraging and inspiring. We discussed ideas on how to support women, run events to fundraise for A WAY OUT, run workshop sessions, boost confidence and even more.

One of the ideas that came from the session is the Christmas Afternoon Tea on the 4th December, details of which can be found if you follow this link: Festive Afternoon Tea.

We are so excited for this group of women, committed to doing what they can to support other women. 

#womensupportwomen

If you would like to join A-AWO, fundraise for us, input your creative ideas, run a workshop, or anything else you think of, we would love to hear from you! email Sarah-Jane with ideas and your details, and have a look around our website to see if you can get involved.

We're always looking for volunteers and supporters. Without the work of volunteers, our work here just could not continue. We are so grateful to each and every one of you!

We are really looking forward to the next A-AWO meeting, and seeing how these ideas develop!

Love from A Way Out x