New beginnings for survivors of modern slavery

Spring is a special time at Snowdrop – our namesake flower starts to bloom, signalling the end of the long winter and the beginning of a new season.

At Snowdrop, we’re committed to giving every survivor we work with the chance of a new beginning by enabling them to recover from their experiences and rebuild their lives. This Spring, we're celebrating the new season by taking a moment to reflect on the incredible new beginnings that our clients have built from themselves. 

Here are just a few of their stories. All names have been changed.

Tala

Tala was brought to the UK from the Philippines when she was just 19, to work as a domestic cleaner. She was told she would be earning enough money to send back to her family. However, when she arrived in the UK her passport was taken from her, she was forced to sleep in a basement and she was made to work for 12-16 hours a day.

Over the six years she was exploited, Tala was paid just £600, but she finally managed to escape with the help of a neighbour who had noticed her.

When Tala arrived at Snowdrop, she had been refused asylum, the government did not believe her story, she had no money and nowhere to turn to. Tala just wanted to be able to move on from her past and start earning enough money to send to her family.

Snowdrop supported Tala to get her negative asylum decision overturned, find a stable place to live, learn English and get the compensation for false imprisonment that she deserved.

Tala started a paid work experience placement with the Co-op’s Bright Future Programme, and is now looking forward to the future.

Helen

Helen was trafficked from Cameroon into sexual exploitation in the UK. Heartbreakingly, Helen left behind two daughters and lost contact with her family for 13 years. Her family assumed she had passed away.

She eventually managed to escape exploitation with the help of one of her 'clients' by literally running away. In 2017, Helen tracked down her family in Cameroon. Tragically, she learned that one of her daughters had drowned crossing the Mediterranean sea the previous year.

When Helen came to Snowdrop, she was destitute, reeling from the grief of losing her daughter and struggling to process everything she had been through.

Snowdrop was able to support and advocate for Helen in her referral to the Family Reunion Service by attending meetings alongside her and guiding her through the process.

Snowdrop also helped Helen arrange the flights for her family to join her in the UK, and successfully applied for the costs of family reunion to be covered by Together Now.

We're so pleased to share that Helen's daughter and grandchildren will be arriving in the UK in less than two weeks' time.

Helen said: “I am so grateful, I am so happy, Snowdrop has made my reunion with my family possible. I am no longer mourning. Snowdrop has been my lifeline.”

Sophie

Sophie was sexually exploited in the UK between the ages of 13 to 19.

"Through this crime, everything was taken from me - my control, my dignity, my future, my voice. I became hidden. From the years of 2005- 2013, I was a statistic, a number within the figure of "potential victims of trafficking within the UK.

I should never have been exploited for that many years undetected. I was not only a child, but I was a child in school, a child with a GP, a child with foster parents and social workers, all which failed to identify that I was being tricked, controlled, tortured and sold every day.

I spent years accepting that what my life had become couldn’t, and wouldn’t, ever change. It was impossible for me to speak out, and nobody around me took any notice of the signs right in front of them.

However, I was extremely lucky. All it took was one police officer not to dismiss the signs and to look further than what you see on the surface...Long-term support is crucial for any survivor's recovery. Without it, you may as well not have been rescued at all. Having a support worker, counsellor and supportive community has changed my life drastically. Because of Snowdrop's knowledge and training, I have been able to grow in independence, confidence and strength, and I now have the ability to make choices for the future I have back."

Your donations play a vital role in enabling survivors to create new beginnings by funding vital support services including casework, counselling and community activities.

• £15 can fund transport to two community activities for a survivor, helping to reduce isolation and boost self-esteem
• £30 can fund one hour of counselling, enabling a survivor to begin to process their experiences
• £72 can fund one hour of face-to-face interpretation, helping a survivor to navigate complex systems including housing or immigration

This Spring, could you donate and give more survivors the chance of a new beginning? Any amount you can give will make a genuine difference. 

As ever, thank you for your support.