This is not a planned blog. This is happening right here and now. I’m away from home for a couple of days and I am staying in an Air B&B. Today is not a good day for me. The 16th and 17th of February are maybe the hardest days of the year for…
Author: outoftheshadows18
My name is Kendra Houseman. I have been involved with Gangs, Exploitation and CSE for over 26 years on many different levels. I am originally from South West London. A complicated background, living in an inner-city estate, and a lack of communication between adults are just some of the factors that lead to me having to make some life changing choices starting at the age of 11. These choices led to many consequences and created “Blondy” the name and person I was known as on the streets of SW London.
#ICU2020 silent prayer….Thank you x
I will start as I do every year…the girl who has opened my eyes to a world that I didn’t know even existed…who has shown me that it’s ok to be different….who faces battles I wouldn’t even know how to face….my daughter…#ICU2020 For #ICU2020 we recognise the work of the many women fighting to end…
#ICU2020….THIS IS WHY
My name is Kendra Houseman and I am a survivor of CSE and gangs As a kid I always used to think that adults couldn’t see me. See what I was going through or what was happening to me. The situations I faced were horrifying and happened daily. This picture here is a good example…
#ICU2020 – Safe people and places
In the past 7 days, four adults have reached out to me in different ways. In addition to that around 6 have opened up to me about their past or anxiety that they are facing. Each one has said something that made me stop and think “Wow…I didn’t see that coming”. These 4 people all…
#ICU2020….8 days to go….Men matter too
A man who I have a lot of respect for asked me a question yesterday. He said that he has seen all the work I do and is looking forward to the upcoming #ICU2020 campaign. But he said that there is one thing that troubled him. He said that he sees me advocating for children…
#ICU2020…..the year of Big Love
Its that time of year again. #ICU2020…and this is the year of Big Love. I debated hard if this should happen again this year. Its hard work, creating a campaign of this size and I have to be honest…. I feel exhausted. Like I have a million things to do and not enough time….
But today I can’t. And that’s OK…(Or is it?)
I suffer from anxiety and stress. Somebody said to me very recently… “You don’t act like you have anxiety”….OK…Bye Felicia I mean don’t we all suffer from anxiety? I don’t think I know anyone that doesn’t suffer from some form of anxiety, even if they don’t know it. As with many people my anxiety is…
Sick of excuses….You have been letting us down a lifetime
First, just so we are clear, you make me sick. Each and ever one of you that knew what was happening to the children in Manchester and didn’t do enough to stop it. You should be ashamed of yourself not only as professionals but also as humans, as parents. Yu have caused many years of…
Nightmares from Road…..
Before you read any further, I have to put in place a TRIGGER WARNING. Sometimes trigger warnings make people want to read things more. This blog has descriptions of sexual assault. Please do not read on if you feel this could trigger you, cause you distress or upset. I have not been writing much about…
“I can’t believe that someone like you got into a relationship like this”
My first blog of the year “2010-2020: The decade of finally finding my freedom” was a difficult blog for me to write on many levels but the main reason was it made me feel extremely vulnerable. I got lots of feed back on it. Many people reached out to me. I would say 90 %…
