We are proud to be supporting Ella's House for a second year; a local charity to us at The Beauty Crop. Ella’s is a London-based organisation working with women who have survived trafficking, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence. They are passionate about providing the best care for as many survivors as they can, ensuring they have all they need to recover and build lives that are safe & free.
Ella's was launched in 2014 by Emily Chalke, who worked with Paul Unsworth from Kahaila. Ella’s is actually named after a real woman, Ella. She had been exploited since childhood, and then trafficked from her home country to Thailand and later to London, trapped in the sex trade for years. Emily worked hard to provide Ella with the professional support she needed while in London to help her break free from exploitation, and they have remained in contact since.
Hear more about Emily and the story of Ella's in this short video:
Initially, Ella's was part of Kahaila, which provided support for their work, and in 2016 Ella's opened its first safe house, and in 2020, it became an independent charity.
Ella’s exists today to address dangerous gaps in the system and provide survivors of trafficking and exploitation with a real chance to recover and stay free.
Ella's Safe Houses
Ella's run two safe houses in South and East London, housing eight women in total. Each safe houses is welcoming, safe and homely. Every woman has her own room, to allow peace and privacy, where they also have help arranging their room just as they want it. There are also communal areas and some women build strong, life-long friendships during their time at Ella’s.
“On my first day at Ella’s, it felt like being welcomed home. I felt safe. I slept that night for the first time in two weeks. “
All safe house residents have an Ella’s caseworker as their main point of contact. Caseworkers are highly skilled, trained in areas such as psychology and social work. Below are some more ways women at Ella's are supported:
- Medical care/therapies
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Education/skills training
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Employment opportunities
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Reuniting with family
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Finding new homes
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Moving house
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Legal support
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Support with immigration
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Bringing abusers to justice
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Emergency essentials
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Emergency money
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Budgeting/managing money
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Confidence/life skills
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Community integration
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Attending appointments
- Moving countries if wanted
The length of time women live in Ella's safe houses varies, but the average stay is one year. When they feel ready, Ella's support them to find the kind of housing most suitable for them to move on to, and help them settle in their new home.
Through raising more awareness and support, Ella's goal is to open more Safe Houses around London, to help as many women as possible.
In 2023 The Beauty Crop were honoured to sponsor a room at one of Ella's safe houses and also supported in various other ways throughout the year, such as the successful pamper day with women from an Ella's safe house and back-to-school event for mother's and their children.
We will be sharing these on our socials and would love it if you supported Ella's House with us!
To dive deeper into the incredible work of Ella’s, watch this short film featuring the story of Lucia, one of the survivors Ella’s work with (played by an actor).
To kick off our 2024 collaboration we'll be hosting the "The Voice of Women" with Ella's, 28th March. This event will be highlighting the power of women's voices across different sectors and society. We will be joined by up to six incredible female panelists, including the amazing Sofia Jin as our host, as they discuss the obstacles women still face and share actionable solutions.
Email: info@ellas.org.uk
Media enquiries: media@ellas.org.uk
General enquiries: 020 3633 6535
Modern slavery helpline: 0800 012 1700