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Kristina Maki

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Kristina Maki

Job description: Team Leader, Bethany house at Irish Centre Housing

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Areas of interest: Housing and homelessness – services for women with complex needs, Domestic abuse, Families and children – including relationships, Substance use, Women involved in the criminal justice system, Mental health and wellbeing, Childhood trauma – including being in care or childhood abuse, Employment and skills, Improving support for women involved in prostitution

Kristina Maki's Recent Activity

"Bethany House is a supported housing scheme for homeless women. Our clients have varying support needs including drug and alcohol misuse, mental health, learning disabilities, and experience of domestic violence. We have also become increasingly aware that a high number of our clients have experienced some form of sexual violence and many are involved in prostitution. We therefore arranged training through Eaves on how to support clients involved in prostitution and work with them to exit if this is what they want to do. As a result of attending this training, a Project Worker at Bethany House and I began work on a policy that would provide a statement of how ICH views prostitution, namely as a form of violence against women and girls, and how staff will support their clients who are involved in prostitution. The policy provides keyworkers with a framework for the support they offer clients. It emphasises the fact that women involved in prostitution should be offered support to exit and that this should be presented to them as an option when they disclose involvement, rather than viewing prostitution as just another form of employment. The policy recognises other clients’ right to live in an environment free from prostitution, and the fact that many activities linked to prostitution are illegal. It therefore seeks to balance provisions for locality management with working in a client-centred way to support women involved in prostitution."
Reply To: Prevention and recovery from domestic abuse and sexual violence

"Bethany House is a supported housing scheme for homeless women. Our clients have varying support needs including drug and alcohol misuse, mental health, learning disabilities, and experience of domestic violence. We have also become increasingly aware that a high number of our clients have experienced some form of sexual violence and many are involved in prostitution. We therefore arranged training through Eaves on how to support clients involved in prostitution and work with them to exit if this is what they want to do. As a result of attending this training, a Project Worker at Bethany House and I began work on a policy that would provide a statement of how ICH views prostitution, namely as a form of violence against women and girls, and how staff will support their clients who are involved in prostitution. The policy provides keyworkers with a framework for the support they offer clients. It emphasises the fact that women involved in prostitution should be offered support to exit and that this should be presented to them as an option when they disclose involvement, rather than viewing prostitution as just another form of employment. The policy recognises other clients’ right to live in an environment free from prostitution, and the fact that many activities linked to prostitution are illegal. It therefore seeks to balance provisions for locality management with working in a client-centred way to support women involved in prostitution."
Reply To: Women, homelessness and the criminal justice system