15 years, 15 stories, 1 van-tastic goal!
This year, Azalea celebrates it’s 15th birthday, and we had a fantastic time celebrating at our birthday party on Saturday July 15th! But the celebrations don’t end there! We are dedicated to our dream of purchasing a van in 2023 in order to create a Mobile Drop-In Van that can be used to deliver our Outreach support, our partnership work with Bedfordshire Police across the county, and much more besides!
15 years
In 2007, a group of friends meet to talk, pray and consider what can be done about the sex trafficking they were witnessing in their neighbourhood.
In 2008 the first group of volunteers begin a Drop-In space in a local church building, a car is bought and street outreach begins.
In 2011, a building is found and therapeutically designed to create a purpose built Drop-In centre.
In 2017, the Drop-In moves to a bigger location in the centre of Luton so that Azalea can offer greater opportunities for recovery and exit.
In 2018, Flint begins with a dedicated team who bring their expertise to design a programme for men seeking to walk free from sex purchasing.
In 2020, Azalea remains open throughout the entirety of Covid-19 and provides a safe space of support for over 200 women who experienced increased violence and trauma throughout the pandemic.
In 2023, Azalea will purchase a van to be repurposed into a mobile Drop-In van!
15 Stories
1 Van-tastic goal
This is a very special birthday, and so, we do have one gift on our hopes list and that is a Mobile Drop-In van! By creating a Mobile Drop-In van, we will bring our unique Azalea ethos right to where women surviving sex trafficking are to be found - be that on the streets or during our partnership support of Police and Border Force warrants. From this van we will be able to offer an immediate place of safety, out of sight from the traffickers and pimps who are watching close by. A safe, warm, trauma informed environment where women can take a moment to sit, talk, have a hot meal and drink, access mental health therapeutic support, and most importantly begin to build the relationships with our volunteer team that will be instrumental in their journey to exit. This van will ensure that all female survivors of sex trafficking are treated with empathy, trauma-informed care, and kindness in the aftermath of sex trafficking.
Donate today to be part of making the Mobile Drop-In Van a reality.