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UK's only drug treatment centre for sex worker mothers to shut |
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Crimewatch
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Published in Children & Young People Now
23rd January 2012
The UK's only drug treatment centre for mothers involved in sex work and their children is to close next month due to a lack of funding. Naomi House is part of Bristol-based charity One25, which supports local sex workers with drug problems.
Two-thirds of women treated at the centre have overcome their drug problems and have kept their children in their care while the drug treatment outcomes are more than double the national average.
However, One25 has not been able to secure enough funding to continue running Naomi House. The award-winning addiction treatment home costs £240,000 per year. Last April, the government slashed a Parenting Fund grant worth £90,000.
Speaking of the home’s closure, One25’s chief executive Gill Nowland said: "This is a sad loss. Naomi House has given 18 vulnerable mothers the help they desperately needed – a chance to transform their lives away from the streets and give their children a better start in life."
The mothers at Naomi House receive counselling to help them break free from drugs and prostitution, as well as overcome childhood trauma and domestic violence. They also take part in parenting workshops, drama classes and massage therapy.
The six full-time staff based at Naomi House will be made redundant.
Around 200 women are believed to currently work in the sex industry in Bristol.
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Crimewatch 
