Rahab, which has been running since 1991, is an outreach ministry to prostitutes working in Plymouth. It is named after the biblical prostitute Rahab, who sheltered Joshua's spies in Jericho and was protected by the Lord (along with her family) when the city walls fell. It grew out of the soup run organised by Mutley Baptist Church in Plymouth. Heading through some of the darkest parts of town to one of their regular stops, the teams would notice women waiting for punters and working through the night. It was felt that these women needed to know God's love and care for his children just as much as the homeless people.
In 1997, Rahab came under the umbrella of Plymouth City Mission. For the last few years, Rahab has met at Mutley Baptist Church, using the prayer room there. As a snapshot of their work, in 2009 they saw 47 different women, around 40 of whom were drug and/or alcohol users, seven wanted access to rehab, five were known to be homeless, four asked for support and befriending, three were struggling ex-offenders, and two were unwell and needed respite care. These are the statistics from only one and half hour's work each week. There is a real need for this ministry, and for further work.
Thankfully, God has brought all our plans together for his own purpose. Keychange has long considered the need for reaching out to vulnerable women similar to their other work at The Door of Hope; Rahab for many years has been praying fervently for God to open the way to continue their work. Following the decision to end the project earlier in the year due to lack of resources, Rahab contacted Keychange and is now part of the Keychange group.
Karine Law, manager of Rahab sums up the need:
"The girls we see are broken. Some show it and share their brokenness, some don't. They hide it behind the masks they wear in order to survive and keep going. They hide it with drinks and drugs and when we listen to their stories, the usual themes of dysfunctional family, sexual abuse, prison, debt and children in care repeat themselves over and over. Often but not always, their stories tell of hearts which have been smashed by life's harsh and cruel deals, of childhoods lived through fear and rejection."