Sabrina's Story
After many failed attempts she finally escaped
Sabrina has been living in our Partner, Orchards’ accommodation for over a year. She was trafficked for sexual purposes as a young woman from Eastern Europe and was trapped in a sexually exploitative situation for a year.
After many failed attempts, she finally escaped from her traffickers but was then homeless and living on the streets for 7 years. After she was identified as a victim of Modern Day Slavery, she was in a multi-occupancy refuge for 2 years with round the clock support.
When she moved into Orchards’ accommodation, it was the first time she'd ever lived semi-independently. She was fearful of leaving the house and cooking and struggled to trust people as a result of the trauma she had experienced.
She's grown in confidence significantly over the last year, building a strong relationship with her Support Worker. She has a love of horticulture and attended a floristry employability programme through one of our partners. She's discovered local parks she likes walking in. After coming to regular community-based creative sessions, she helped run the most recent one for women and staff to share her flower arranging skills! She is also a very valuable contributor at our Women’s leadership board, helping to shape our services for other women.
At her request, we recently had the joy of buying her two Bibles, one in English and one in her mother tongue, as she explores faith for herself. She has a clear sense of where she wants to live when she moves on from our safe property accommodation and we will be walking alongside her every step of the way to full independence. Her dream is to work part time, live in a house with a small garden and have many cats.
(Name changed and stock image used to protect the identity of the resident, story shared with permission )