I attended the Co-operative’s Bright Futures partner summit yesterday in Manchester. The Adavu Project is an official partner and we have so far succeeded in helping one of our clients secure a paid work placement and go onto a permanent job. We have other referrals in the pipeline too and it was great to be part of a wider, thriving community of people and organisations pro-actively tackling modern slavery and helping survivors rebuild their futures.
We also heard about the review of the Modern Slavery Act where there are “great strides” to be taken in the area of post-NRM care of survivors and it was heartening to hear the commitment from the new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Sara Thornton, to want to move from strategy to actually delivering real change on the ground. One of her three priorities is improving victim support, both NRM and post-NRM care, which is where the Adavu Project’s work lies.
The Bright Futures Programme has helped accelerate survivors into quality, paid work and we heard first-hand the stories of two ladies who have now found independence, freedom and confidence through this. An independent review concluded that the Programme’s work is effective and relevant – which Adavu has seen ourselves – and I left with the confirmation that the work of Bright Futures, Adavu and our key partners, is truly “breaking new ground”.
Much is changing and a groundswell of awareness, support, improved policy and commitment to tackling the issue of modern slavery in our communities is growing… we are working “at the right time, in the right place”.