Three women at Harbour Church, Portsmouth, have established themselves as pillars of their community since their projects were founded a few years ago.

Under the church’s Love Your Neighbour program sit three projects dedicated to helping the vulnerable women of Portsmouth: Spa 61, Vista, and Haven.

The oldest of the trio, Spa 61, offers pop-up beauty services for any woman in the city who feels in need of some extra TLC. 

Once a month, the church site transforms into a community beauty parlour right in the heart of Portsmouth, offering rest and relaxation to local women.

This existing project inspired Miriam Hargreaves, who had recently moved to the area, found Vista through the church. 

Having previously worked for nationwide charity Beyond the Streets, which works to protect women from sexual exploitation, Miriam knew there was no specialist support in the Portsmouth area.

“In the research phase it soon became clear that there are hundreds of women in the area advertising sexual services,” she said. 

“We started with outreach into the massage parlours, offering support and a listening ear.

“We started a 1:1 support service, receiving self-referrals via word of mouth and agency referrals and through netreach, to give women a safe, loving, accepting and confidential place to talk about what they want to and to find help with a range of issues.” 

Following Vista’s success, a third project, Haven, was founded in 2021. 

To run Haven, Harbour Church partnered with Portsmouth City of Sanctuary and the Medaille Trust Moving On Project, which support Portsmouth’s migrant population and those affected by modern slavery respectively. 

Haven is a referral-only support group for women who are victims of or have experienced gender-based violence, exploitation, or extreme adverse experiences.

The women referred attend regular, trauma-informed sessions, where the activities undertaken can range from craft to discussion, to dance classes, to visits from local authority representatives.

Since its founding, Haven has offered over 250 women a safe space.

Miriam said, “It is hugely rewarding to be alongside some amazing women as they start to heal, seeing how valuable they are and as they rewrite their narrative where they have believed lies about themselves imposed by others.”

However, the projects still face significant challenges.

One of these issues is making sure that those running the programs don’t lose sight of their own well-being, as they hear stories of violence and abuse on a daily basis. 

But Miriam says that sometimes, laws intended to protect vulnerable people can hinder those working to support them.

“GDPR laws as they stand currently make netreach (outreach to women advertising sexual services) challenging and making contact with women who are experiencing sexual exploitation is made harder because of outdated data laws around cold texting to offer support free of charge.”

Despite the hard work needed to get there, the outcomes are ultimately positive, however. 

Miriam says that the highlights of her work are seeing women begin to thrive as they find that they are not alone. 

“We are seeing how women who have received support and are in a better place are now starting to volunteer and give back in various ways.”

Whilst the projects are run by Harbour Church, an Anglican Christian organisation, activities directly tied to faith, like prayer, are only offered if the woman participating requests it. 

Spa 61, Vista, and Haven are only some of Harbour Church’s wide lineup of community projects, which also include food banks and community meals, as well as the provision of feminine hygiene and baby products. 

The Love Your Neighbour projects are a huge part of Harbour Church’s operations, and their efficacy and variety is a testament to the dedication of the people behind them.

Miriam summarised the ethos of the projects. She said: “We all need people alongside us in life.”

This story was written by Mollie Egner at Peter Symonds College