Community Group nomination – Voice of Hope
Community Group nomination – Voice of Hope
A North Staffordshire charity that raises awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking delivered awareness sessions to 1240 delegates and 1651 children over the last year.
Voice of Hope, based at The Bridge Centre in Birches Head, was established by University of Staffordshire alumna Robertson in 2015. The aim is to provide awareness and training sessions to sectors that may encounter victims or people who are at risk of becoming a victim to modern slavery, human trafficking and county lines. These sectors include healthcare, advice, business, education, housing associations and volunteers.
The charity was established after Ann had watched a documentary on TV and then decided to write a dissertation at University of Staffordshire that focused on examining if slavery still existed. When she researched what was going on in in the world, and even locally, Ann was motivated to establish Voice of Hope.
“I wanted my grandson to live in a world where people stand up and raise their voice. That’s where the name of the charity came from,” she said.
Voice of Hope has evolved over the past decade to increase awareness as it is estimated there are more than 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK.
The charity has a team of four – Ann, Graham Phillips, Catherine Morris and Tom Tams – and they work closely with Staffordshire Police and other organisations.
Ann said: “Our aim is to give more people better opportunities and alternatives and to reinforce that we are a voice to help people.
“We want to give a voice to those who are involved and affected by this, especially children and the vulnerable, and continue to provide our services and programmes to those who need them.
“A key focus is educating the next generation to equip them with information and support so that they can make informed decisions and choices and avoid becoming victims themselves.”
Voice of Hope has been nominated in the Community Group of the Year category of the Your Heroes Awards.