Army awarded new government modern slavery contract
Army awarded new government modern slavery contract
6 July 2020
In the UK and around the world The Salvation Army is helping victims of modern slavery to rebuild their lives.
The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom has been appointed to the government’s new Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract to manage the support of adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales.
Through the new and extended contract, which runs for an initial five-year period, The Salvation Army and its specialist partners can build on expertise developed from helping more than 10,000 adult victims of modern slavery and human trafficking since July 2011.
“The Salvation Army has been privileged to work alongside our partners who have played a key role in helping to support thousands of victims of modern slavery as they rebuild their lives. We look forward to announcing more about our partnerships in due course,” said Commissioner Anthony Cotterill, leader of The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to not only continue to serve these most vulnerable people but that through the new Victim Care Contract we can extend the support available to them at all stages of their recovery.
“Working closely with the Home Office and our partners, we will build on the improvements and partnerships we have delivered over the past nine years, continue to add value to the entitlements survivors of slavery receive and ensure their needs are properly managed and respected.
“For more than 150 years The Salvation Army has been working with victims of slavery with activities across the world to support the communities most at risk. Our commitment remains as strong now as it has been throughout our history. We will remain at the forefront of the fight to help today’s survivors overcome the challenges they face and protect other vulnerable people from becoming the victims of the future.”
Survivors of slavery
The new contract allows The Salvation Army to extend support currently available to survivors of slavery at all stages of their recovery and introduces new services. All survivors will be entitled to a safe place to stay, where needed, and a support worker to help them access the support they require, which could include financial, legal and medical support, counselling and help to get a job or a home when they move on.
Transition into the new contract will take place in the next six months, with a focus on ensuring the needs and entitlements of survivors like Sanu from Bangladesh are properly managed and respected. Sanu was held in slave-like conditions and forced to work seven days a week for seven years. He was very traumatised and withdrawn when he first arrived at a safe house but is now responding well to support.
He said: “Where I am now in a Salvation Army safe house, they see how I am and really work hard to help me get my personality back. They helped me to go to the mosque and to do volunteering and training. I feel lighter than I did before. Now every step of my life is helpful in every way.”
In the UK and around the world, The Salvation Army is helping victims of modern slavery to rebuild their lives when they are rescued from their captors, building on the work undertaken through the government contract with additional support programs provided through its own charitable funds.
Alongside its global reach operating across 131 countries, 400 strong team of trained volunteers, a network of church and community centres, The Salvation Army’s Victim Care Fund provides survivors with grants to help them transition to living independently.
For more information visit: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/modern-slavery
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