A DETERMINED bid to eradicate prostitution and drug addiction from the streets of Ipswich has been bolstered by the backing of Suffolk's business community.
A DETERMINED bid to eradicate prostitution and drug addiction from the streets of Ipswich has been bolstered by the backing of Suffolk's business community.
A number of firms attended a briefing at Ipswich Town's Galleria yesterday to hear about the progress of the Somebody's Daughter campaign.
Launched following the killings of five women last winter, the appeal will eventually fund a safe house for vulnerable young people and deliver a programme of education on the issues of substance misuse and vice.
In a significant boost, businesses represented vowed to back Somebody's Daughter.
Council community safety officer Hannah Besley told delegates a prostitution strategy developed last January was paying dividends.
She said 120 kerb crawlers had been arrested since the crackdown, with only two re-offending.
And she told how Somebody's Daughter was already making a difference, with £1,000 recently granted to furnish a house for women trying to exit prostitution.
Ipswich Town chairman and campaign trustee David Sheepshanks said the support of business was crucial in delivering a successful campaign.
He said: “As ghastly as the horrors of last winter were, it's had a cohesive effect of pulling the community together.
“We want to raise £100,000 to create something the experts have said is needed in Ipswich.”
Somebody's Daughter has been nominated as The Evening Star's 2007 Christmas appeal.
The registered charity has also been adopted as one of Ipswich Town's four chosen charities for the 2007/08 season.
Donations to the memorial fund can be made online at www.eveningstar.co.uk, in person at Ipswich Borough Council's customer service centre in the Town Hall, by calling 01473 433777, or by sending a cheque, made payable to Somebody's Daughter Memorial Fund, to PO Box 772, Ipswich Borough Council, Grafton House, 15-17 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DE.
Are you fundraising for the appeal? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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