We were originally going to give this blog the title ‘A typical outreach evening’ but then realised that there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ evening. There are also no patterns – days of the week can be different each time…. and the weather doesn’t have an impact either, as the women are out in all weathers – and if they are there, so are we.
We have chosen a night from a few months ago to share with you.
‘A’ nearly gets into one of the volunteers car as they arrive – she thought they were a job! Once we had set up, she had condoms, a cold drink, chocolate and toiletries and was in a good mood.
‘B’ arrives She is having problems with her landlord and is hoping to move soon. She was a little quiet we were able to give her some supplies (condoms, hot drinks, chocolate). She went to the other end of the road as she didn’t fancy chatting this time.
‘C’ was looking for ‘B’ – she is not sex-working at the moment but enjoys being out with the other women, we had a good chat over a coffee and pointed her in the right direction.
‘D’ has just been dropped off by a client. She is angry and wants out of this life but knows no other. She has addiction issues and just wants to move away from Reading but has no resources to help her. We listened and encouraged her in exploring her options
‘E’ approached us. We have not met her before but she has sex-worked in the past. She is coming out to pay a bill due to the increase in the cost-of-living. She’s pragmatic about having to come out again. We gave her some supplies and chatted through how we could help.
We finish the outreach with a prayer. ‘D’ is still with us so we ask her if she wants us to pray with us and she does. We pray for all the women we have seen and ask for protection over all of them. Then we pack up and go home.
Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.