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City vicar assists prostitutes

by
02 November 2006

A CITY VICAR has been assisting prostitutes, and has attracted the interest of the police. The Vicar of St Andrew's, Nottingham, the Revd Richard Clark, has been helping to run the Jericho Road Project, which offers support to 200 street prostitutes that gather outside the church or near to the vicarage.

Now the police are involved in the project. "The police have given the Jericho Road project £1000 from their 'naughty boy' school for kerb-crawlers" said Mr Clarke. This is a special day-school to help kerb-crawlers change their ways.

"The police take the registration numbers of the cars of the people who keep going up and down the district, and, if they can't offer a reasonable explanation then, rather than name and shame them, they are asked to attend a course," said Mr Clarke. 

Mr Clarke already allows the vicarge flat to be used as a place where prostitutes can be looked after and given some food. They can also store a few items, and get some advice. He is in negotiations with the YWCA for one of its buildings to be used for the project.

The Jericho Road project started in 2000 "because we don't walk past on the other side". It became a joint-churches project in 2003. "We now have 50 volunteers from seven churches involved. We go out into the street and kerb crawl. I am now an expert kerb-crawler, and I can identify a prostitute from a member of the public quite easily," said Mr Clarke.

"We go out with one male and two female volunteers. The females will talk to the girl, and offer them food and drink, and talk to them about help to leave prostitution.

"Many of the girls are homeless or in hostels or sleeping on floors.  About 90 per cent are class-A drug-users . We care for the girls without interfering with what they have chosen to do," said Mr Clarke.

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