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Ipswich Project
In 2005, Alison Fenning set up a ministry to reach women involved in prostitution in Ipswich. We have a small team who meet the women on the streets and offer friendship, prayer and support.
Our hope is that each of the women will have a personal encounter with Jesus and allow him to transform their life.
During the period when five of the women were murdered in Ipswich, we were there to offer support to the women and took part in a joint agency program to patrol the streets regularly for people's safety.
On the first Monday of every month the Ipswich Project is open for women and men to drop in to visit members of the Ipswich Project Team to have a cuppa and a chin wag.
If you need transport to these events please email the church.
RSVP has been working in Ipswich with women involved in prostitution since 2005. During the Suffolk murders, at the end of 2006, RSVP teams continued to visit the women who were still on the street and help those who had stopped 'working' meet urgent needs over the Christmas period. We were also part of a joint initiative with the health teams and police who patrolled the area for the safety of the community.
RSVP is working in partnership with Ipswich Street Prostitution Strategy .
RSVP is affiliated to NCAP (National Christian Alliance on Prostitution).
What we do:
Our aim is to befriend women on the street in an affirming relationship.
- To be there for women who want to exit prostitution.
- To point them to the love of Jesus.
- To provide information when asked for it.
- To meet for coffee in the daytime if women want to.
- We run a monthly drop in centre in Ipswich.
- We always work in pairs.
- We occasionally run events for the women to 'drop in' to.
- We partner with local churches in the area.
- We may visit women in prison, if requested.
- To connect women with other agencies - like the drugs team - for specialised help.
- We train volunteers to work in the project.
What we don't do:
We are not the emergency services, so we cannot respond to assault or overdose.
We are not available at all hours but we do have a phone number women can phone to make an appointment to meet in the day time.
We cannot allow our staff and volunteers to suffer verbal abuse and will terminate conversations (and eventually relationships) where this happens.
On average, every year
She's raped 19 times
Kidnapped 10 times
Beaten repeatedly
And we still consider her the criminal?
Few people choose to be prostitutes. Many were molested as children, victims of abusive relationships or preyed upon at an early age by pimps.
Its a tough life. Leaving it is even tougher
Who are the women?
Mums
Wives
Daughters
Sisters
Girlfriends
All Ages
All racial backgrounds
Further information is available from www.rsvptrust.co.uk
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Hi, I'm Alison Fenning and I've been working for The RSVP Trust since 2003. I share the RSVP vision which is to: preach the gospel, teach disciples, and help the poor. Most of my work is done in the UK but I also get to travel to Africa, America and a few other cool places too.
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