Welcome to Nurture with Orchards.

Nurture with Orchards is our new therapeutic wellbeing programme to enable women to improve their physical and mental health whilst recovering from trauma.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the trauma of sexually exploitative situations….So, this year we really excited to be developing a new therapeutic wellbeing programme.

“We love working with Orchards, their passion, focus, single-mindedness and tailored approach for the one are inspiring. Lives being changed one at a time.”

We asked employment partner to write a guest blog. Each working to the strength, Luminary will always focus on employability skills, while a partner like Orchards will provide safe housing and holistic support….

We invited Beyond the Streets to write a guest blog post on our collaborative work in supporting women to exit.

Lockdown has turned things upside for all of us. As we begin to resurface a little and are able to move towards face to face work again (bathed in alcohol gel!) we have been reflecting on the last 6 months for the team.

This is the second in our two-part blog series on the importance of therapeutic support for women who have experienced sexual exploitation. You can read part one by Co-Founder Jenny, who oversees our counselling provision here.

In this post, we interviewed our amazing counsellor Bonny. We are so grateful to have Bonny on our team and for all she brings.

I have the total privilege of co-leading Orchards alongside my work as a counsellor for survivors of sexual violence. I first decided to train as a therapist whilst I was involved in street outreach with women in prostitution in East London…

The temptation to rescue can be massive when supporting those who have experienced trauma through sexual exploitation. We meet the woman behind the referral form, we hear the stories of abuse, the frustrating barriers she faces. We also see the potential for change, the potential for barriers to be overcome and recovery to begin and we want to do everything we can to make that happen.

This time last year, we made our first calls to estate agents in search of an Orchards flat. After hearing our budget and what we were looking for, I remember one agent bursting out laughing saying “you might want to try calling back after Brexit” and hanging up! We felt God had other ideas and we got the keys to our lovely flat a few months later..

I woke up this morning with a choice between porridge or toast for breakfast. I like both and I could have chosen either – I have both stocked in my kitchen. If I ran out, I have the means to buy more bread or oats. No one is coercing me into choosing one or the other, I am totally free to choose, so it’s down to preference really. I went for porridge in case you were wondering…