POW Successes to Date
POW was involved in the establishment of a multi-agency steering group in 1996. The steering group included Health, Education and voluntary sector services, which enabled services to be streamlined. The work of this forum has led to a change in national guidelines to decriminalise young prostitutes and investigate and prosecute involved adults. POW received a Social Care Award from the Department of Health for their involvement in the Forum.
POW developed an Outreach Forum in 1999, which was essentially to ensure that various outreach services within Nottingham City were not duplicated, and thus wasting public resources. This Forum meets quarterly with appropriate representation from all services, which provide outreach in Nottingham.
POW gave presentations at both the International and National Conferences on Child Abuse and Neglect held in Durban, South Africa and York UK. These conferences enabled workers to bring invaluable information and experience back to the project and also to share publicly good practice from the multi-agency work with other organisations. POW continues to give presentations locally and receive excellent feedback.
POW visit Residential Homes for Children and give sexual health information talks. Individual support is provided and group sessions prove to be extremely positive for the young people and are vital in providing pr:: Welcome to POW - Prostitute Outreach Workers (Nottingham) :: ion strategies for young people who were at risk from prostitution and drug misuse.
POW has been a key agency in the Resource and Strategy pack produced by Social Services. POW acts as a key agency for referral, and intends to continue to provide realistic support for young people involved in prostitution, through current mechanisms and through continued co-ordination of outreach.
POW received a Financial Impact Award from GlaxoSmithkline. The award is designed to recognise and promote the work of small voluntary organisations with a proven track record in the challenging and demanding area of community health. The judges considered that POW was an outstanding organisation, which has focused on, pr:: Welcome to POW - Prostitute Outreach Workers (Nottingham) :: ative healthcare and has helped to build bridges between the prostitute community and local statutory services and voluntary services.
POW developed a partnership with NCH Action for Children to provide counselling and therapeutic support for younger clients. Support/counselling rooms were provided so this could be conducted in a more appropriate environment at POW.
POW developed a hardship fund for disadvantaged clients as it was recognised that many clients needed a little financial support to help make positive life style changes. POW uses money, which is donated by Churches, to help with bus fares to see a solicitor or to go to the GU Medicine clinic or purchase essential items needed by clients in exceptional circumstances.
POW has created a comprehensive contact database. Development of the database has improved monitoring of referrals and outcomes for clients and makes it easier to evaluate the project. We are currently in the process of developing the database even further taking it to yet another level.
During 2003 and 2004 POW conducted a cross-sectional evaluation study in partnership with the University of Nottingham and funded by the New Deal for Communities Scheme, with the aim being to evaluate POW services by assessing the health needs of POW clients, and describing perceptions, experiences and use of POW services by clients of the organisation.
POW is part of an Adult prostitution multi-agency steering group which hosted a visit from Government Minister; Caroline Flint, Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Home Office. She came to Nottingham on 7th September 04 to discuss the Home Office consultation paper “paying the price” and to focus particularly on what Nottingham would welcome from the review. POW participated in the round table discussion on Prostitution at the Nottingham Council House and then the steering group including the minister came to POW to talk to staff, volunteers and clients.
