Meet the teams! 

Team 1:

Helina, runner: Helina is our Health Advocacy Support Worker for the Sex Work Project. She works one on one with women around any issues they may be facing with their health. She has been at Basis for four years and has supported many women over that time. She is amazing at her job and very passionate about ensuring all women get the support they are entitled to!

Paddy, cyclist: Paddy is one of our trustees and a keen bike rider! He has completed many charity bike rides and we will be relying on his superior knowledge and experience! 

Kate, swimmer: Kate is also one of our trustees and has been for the last ten years. Kate has been integral to providing strategic leadership for Basis as well as carrying out vital research which has helped us to improve and hone our services as well as making us a leading voice on sex worker rights and protection.

Team 2: 

Catrina, runner: Catrina has been a volunteer at Basis for over a year. She has put her numerous skills to excellent use both at Drop In and on outreach! 

Jane, cyclist: Jane is a sexual health nurse who we work incredibly closely with to ensure as many women as possible are accessing sexual health checks and treatment. Jane is a vital member of the Basis team and carries out incredible work! 

Ruth, swimmer: Ruth is just coming to the end of her year in placement with Basis. She has had a key role in both the campaigns we have run for the sex work project and CSE as well as doing Drop In and Outreach. This will be one of the last things she does for Basis before her placement ends!! 

Our story:

Basis Yorkshire is a charity based in Leeds which supports young people who are either at high risk of, or currently experiencing child sexual exploitation (CSE) and women working in the sex industry. Six members of our dedicated team are braving the icy water, pulling on their running shoes and saddling up on their bikes in order to complete the Leeds Triathlon and raise money for Basis. 

We have two teams taking part and hope to raise as much money as possible to enable Basis to continue carrying out its vital work. More than ever money is incredibly tight, not all of our work is funded and the demand for the work we carry out is only increasing. We have an amazingly dedicated team who do wonderful work but we want to make it as easy as possible for them. The money we raise will be used to directly help our service users, for example by repairing our very old yet trusted outreach van! We campaign for sex worker's rights and challenge the hateful prejudices and stigma our service users face. We also work to raise awareness about CSE with the general public, to educate people about the signs and keep young people safe. More and more people need our help and we want to ensure that we are able to support as many women and young people as possible. 

We are all incredibly passionate about the work we carry out and it is a cause we all believe in wholeheartedly. We work with some amazingly resilient women and young people who face hardships most of us can not imagine.We believe that everyone has the right to be safe, to make their own choices and to access 1-1 holistic support, but unfortunately for sex workers and young people experiencing CSE this is not always the case. We are dedicated to ensuring that we continue to empower and support as many women and young people as possible. 

So please, support us to complete our longest challenge to date! The money raised will help us to continue making a real difference. Please share with your friends and family so we can spread the word as far as possible!