Ella's: supporting survivors of modern slavery
Ella’s provides housing and support for survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation. They currently have three safe houses in London and also support women living in the local community.
Minke van Til, Co-Director of Ella’s, shares more about the vital work of the charity, and the impact of the Foundation’s funding and support.
We exist because there's a need for longer term aftercare for survivors of modern slavery. Every woman we work with gets their own support worker, and we develop a support plan that's tailored to each individual. This can range from arranging appointments, helping them navigate through bureaucracy, or support in accessing English lessons or training opportunities. The purpose of everything we do is to help women to enter into lasting freedom, so they don't ever go back to cycles of abuse and exploitation.
Life-saving support
The national referral mechanism (NRM) is the government’s system of identifying victims of modern slavery and referring them for support services. However, the support that many women need, having years’ worth of trauma to work through, requires more intensive support beyond what the NRM can provide. Many survivors can easily fall through the cracks because they disappear off everyone’s radar without any support in place. And there's nothing else out there for them to access. They’re on their own.
At Ella's we feel safe, we feel that we have protection, we are not alone. When we sleep, we don't need to worry because we are in a safe place. There is heating, electricity, there is everything, we feel like we are in our own home.
- Survivor of modern day slavery, currently housed and supported by Ella’s
There are also women we have worked with who have gone through the NRM years ago but they're still waiting on their immigration status. Now they're in the asylum process like everybody else, but with extremely complex PTSD, and layers of trauma.
We are one of the few organisations providing survivors with housing and emotional support as they recover from complex trauma. Without this support, they may fall back into situations of trafficking and abuse. Some of the women we work with have said that the housing we provide has been life-saving. Having a place of refuge is so important because how can you recover if you don't have a home?
The cost of living is a real problem as well, especially for those who don't live in our safe houses. We have a crisis fund to help some women directly with financial support. And we have seen that, due to the cost of living crisis, there has been an increase in how much that's been needed. Especially for those with big families.
Being championed to succeed
We’ve been funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation since 2022. It’s been amazing to get funding that isn't restricted. It’s meant that we can have the right staff in place to be able to run and grow the organisation. We’ve been able to fund core staff, like myself, and open another safe house which has been a huge achievement. Ultimately this means we can support more women.
Minke, Co-Director of Ella's shares how Lloyds Bank Foundation's support has helped the charity
The combination of funding alongside non-financial development support offered by the Foundation is amazing. Getting funding for core staff has meant that we have the time and resources to be able to engage with the additional non-financial support.
- Minke Van Til, Co-Director of Ella's
We’ve had support from consultants provided by the Foundation which has helped us mature and grow as a charity. For example, we’ve been able to develop our five-year strategy and they’ve helped us to focus on our strengths and think about where we can really make a difference.
It’s also been great to have access to amazing networks, such as Lloyds Banking Group colleagues – like Charlotte Davis, who has recently become a trustee, which is brilliant. We’ve been able to get in touch with lots of different people and more doors are opening for us.
This kind of funding programme is very unique and effective. We feel supported by the Foundation - it’s so encouraging to have someone championing us to succeed. I think there should be more of this kind of thing in the world.
Volunteering with Ella’s as a trustee supports my role at Lloyds, which involves looking at how the Group can develop products and processes that supports the financial inclusion of survivors of modern slavery. Being involved with Ella’s is helping me to understand more about the experience of survivors and how we can support them in meaningful ways.
– Charlotte Davis, Human Rights Manager at Lloyds Banking Group and trustee of Ella’s.
Charlotte Davis, trustee of Ella's, talks with staff and survivors
I remember the day I came to Ella’s. I just started crying because I didn't know what was going to happen. But now, I just don't want to leave... It's very comfortable and safe. I would say before I came to Ella’s, I felt like I couldn't do anything on my own, and here they teach me to be independent. I can do anything now. I'm stronger.
– Survivor of modern day slavery, currently housed and supported by Ella’s
If you've been inspired by this Success Story about Ella's then you can find out more about their work from their website www.ellas.org.uk
