PHOTO: FELIPE JONSSON LOPES
Working Together Words Jess Bee
āLockdown put many in more diļ¬cult situationsā
So much of the work of Lifewords operates through partnership ā a response to Godās values of relationship, collaboration and community. Last spring when the UK and many other countries went into lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, life suddenly looked very diļ¬erent. For Lifewords and its partners here was an opportunity to oļ¬er safety, hope and support to vulnerable people all over the world. āFrom the beginning of the national lockdown in March 2020, we entered into a busy, vibrant, challenging, painful and beautiful time,ā says Emma Turner from Azalea in Luton, UK, reļ¬ecting on the challenges and opportunities presented by lockdown restrictions. Azalea, who Lifewords partnered with to create Consider the Wildļ¬owers, works with those who are traļ¬cked and sexually exploited. āLockdown put many in more diļ¬cult situations,ā says Emma. āThere was an increase in the violence enacted against our women. We received a huge number of disclosures of violence and rape ā seven times more than in the same time period in 2019. Homelessness was more worrying due to the
inability to self-isolate.ā Azalea also saw a huge rise in the number of women, and men, going to them for emergency support through their foodbank.
A PLACE OF REFUGE Azalea adapted to the new circumstances in order to keep serving its community. It responded by opening its doors daily, so that the women they work with could visit if they were in need. āWe saw many at all times of the day, coming forward because they had just been attacked, or in desperate need of food, or to contact the council to be placed in accommodation,ā says Emma. Azalea also expanded its foodbank oļ¬ering, including a mobile foodbank for those who
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