Christmas fundraising appeal for vital UK Helpline
Unseen has launched a Christmas fundraising appeal for its Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, just as its latest figures reveal a 20% jump in calls.*
For one week only from 30 November – 7 December, any donation received will be doubled as part of the annual Big Give match-funding scheme.
The Helpline relies solely on the support of our generous supporters. Will you dig deep this Christmas to fund our Helpline and help desperate people escape from exploitation?
Uniquely, the data the Helpline gathers is used by government, police, business and other charities to inform anti-slavery strategies across the UK, and to better support victims and survivors.
“We’re seeing growing demands on our Helpline services and it’s vital we’re able to continue to offer a way out of exploitation for some of the most vulnerable people in society,” says Dugald McNaughtan, Head of Fundraising at Unseen.
“We rely on the generosity of the public to keep the Helpline going, so I urge people to donate during the Big Give at the beginning of December, so that every pound will be doubled.”
“Let’s offer some hope to people trapped in unbelievably cruel situations this Christmas.”
The Helpline in action – Admir’s story
If it weren’t for a compassionate member of the public and the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, Admir’s future would have looked very different.
Just hours before Admir** was found sleeping rough, he’d taken the brave decision to run from his traffickers in a bid to free himself from exhaustion and the physical and mental abuse he’d suffered.
He’d been trafficked from Albania to the UK to work on a farm in Buckinghamshire.
Aged 55, he was forced to work 14-hour days, seven days a week, on-call at night, and threatened if he didn’t comply. With only a squalid caravan to sleep in, he had no bathroom, no shower, intermittent electricity and was barely paid – if at all – for his painting and cleaning work. Ashamed and exhausted, he was near breaking point.
Finally, he decided to risk it and managed to escape. Thankfully, a passerby found him and, together with a local charity, called the Helpline. Admir was finally free of his horrific ordeal.
The Helpline was a linchpin for Admir. He needed expert care for the trauma he’d gone through and help to take back control of his life. The Helpline made sure he was linked to all the right support and, crucially, ensured the police had expert statements so they could investigate his case and bring his perpetrators to justice.
