Women in Residential Property has supported Ella’s for a number of years. Here is the latest update from their CO-Directors, Emily Chalke and Minke van Til.
The need for survivor care is growing.
- 17,004 potential victims of modern slavery were referred into the UK Government’s system in 2023, with the number of female survivors at an all time high.
- The National Policing Statement for 2024 says, ‘Violence against women and girls has reached epidemic levels in England and Wales’.
- The women and families we work with were among the most vulnerable in the UK even before the cost of living crisis. Now, life is even harder.
- Yet, funding for small charities like Ella’s is becoming more scarce.
Against this challenging backdrop, we’ve managed to grow and reach more survivors this last year; but we urgently need more people to get behind our work. Our support is crucial for survivors; without the right aftercare, they are highly likely to fall back into danger. That’s why we’ve launched our year-long campaign, Freedom300, to grow our supporter network by 300 new givers.
Please donate if you can
Linda’s story
Your donation will help brave women like Linda. Her extraordinary story of violence and exploitation started when she uncovered some vile corruption and abuse that was affecting women and children in her town. She was a teacher at the time. Linda joined a women’s action group to gather evidence and stop the criminals behind the abuse, but the reach of the gang was widespread and powerful.
A large number of people involved lost their lives. Linda was attacked and tortured. At one point, she was kidnapped, drugged and abused. Eventually, a human rights group helped Linda flee for her life, and she came to the UK.
Things should have got better, but instead they got worse when Linda was betrayed by someone claiming to be helping her.
‘All of my documents were taken away from me and I was trapped. I was forced to be a servant in the house, and was abused in many ways,’ says Linda. ‘I don’t even really know how it happened, but in trying to stop other people from being trafficked and exploited, I myself became trafficked and exploited.’
Linda managed to escape, but was too scared to seek more help, so became street homeless. Linda eventually came to Ella’s after being attacked sleeping rough.
‘When I arrived at the Ella’s house, it was so beautiful and so welcoming. When I walked into my room, I just burst into tears, I was thanking God for days and days after,’ says Linda
‘My support worker at Ella’s is amazing, I’ve never known this kind of support before. I am wishing and praying that other women are able to find a place like Ella’s.’
Without the right support, survivors are extremely likely to fall back into danger. Please donate today, and help women like Linda to recover and stay safe.
- £30 a month for a year could pay for 24 specialist, tailored, one to one support sessions for a survivor, helping them recover and build a safe life.
- A one-off gift of £80 could pay for new towels, bedding, toiletries and flowers for a new safe house resident.
Thank you so much. Times are tough for small charities like Ella’s as well as the people we support, and we know they’ll be tough for some of you too. Whether or not you can give today, we appreciate you
