Manchester Action On Street Health
A lifeline for women who are sex working
The MASH drop-in centre is a safe place for women in Manchester who are sex working. A place where they can come for non-judgemental support around health, safety and wellbeing. Women tell us that MASH is their 'lifeline' so we need your help to keep our drop-in doors open.
It ran from 12:00 PM, 8 March 2022 to 12:00 PM, 22 March 2022
Registered Charity in England and Wales (1051754)
Match funded Campaign target
£5,000
Amount raised
£3,690
Donations
57
Championed by The Big Give Trust (Champion)
Location
United Kingdom
Campaign overview
Aims
Where's the money going?
Impact & reporting
Situation
"No where to turn to" Women who sex work, particularly on the streets, are more likely to experience poor mental and physical health and face barriers in every aspect of society. These include not having a safe place to live, struggling to access healthcare, no bank account or ID, no support network and societal stigma. These women are on the sharpest end of social and health inequalities, and are amongst the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Solution
"I'm safe here" The MASH drop-in centre is a safe, welcoming place for any woman involved in sex work. Women can access an array of expert support. Such as; One to one support from experienced caseworkers and housing experts Food & drink Access to our sexual health clinic and Covid vaccinations Condoms Friendship Activities Safety info Counselling Women tell us that having a safe place they can come to for essentials and rely on in crisis removes a great deal of anxiety from their lives
“MASH is a lifeline. MASH helps you get your life sorted and put things in perspective.”
— Woman at the MASH drop-in
“Hand on heart I was in such a bad way I don’t think that I could have carried on. I genuinely believe you’ve actually saved my life.”
— Woman supported by MASH
"I've been coming to MASH for ten years. You can take some time from the outside. I like the food and I can pop in to see the nurse whilst I'm here. The condoms are so important, too. When they do hair and beauty, this makes me feel better."
— MASH Service User
Just wanted to thank you for last night. It was absolutely the best night I've had in years, the way we all got on and having genuine laughs was great thank you.
— Woman who attended Christmas dinner at MASH