Celebrating Lynda Dearlove
On Tuesday the 23rd of April we celebrated the tremendous decades of hard work Sr. Lynda Dearlove put into creating and building Women@TheWell.
Lynda spent many years working with women affected by prostitution in East London, often from the back of a van, providing hot drinks, a listening ear and other practical help. She soon realised that what the women needed was a hub, where they could come to a safe, women only space for basic-needs support as well as long term holistic help in order to stand a chance of surviving and exiting exploitation.
For seventeen years now Women@TheWell has been a unique welcoming place in King’s Cross for women to come most days of the week, where a wide range of support is available. Barely any other state agency or charity is delivering work like this. Lynda’s years of work with women who have been harmed in prositution led her to believe strongly that policy and law needed to be changed to end the demand from men to pay for sex. While running the centre at King’s Cross, Lynda spent years campaigning for radical political and legal change in the way prostitution is policed and responded to (as described here).
It is time for Lynda to dedicate herself to others who need her. Lynda remains the cherished Founder and the Special Advisor to Women@TheWell.
We took time to come together on Tuesday the 23rd of April to celebrate these decades of work. These are some of the dedications that were compiled and gifted to Lynda from people who know and have worked alongside her:
“Sr Lynda is the fiercest, kindest, most loving woman in London. Woman @ the Well would be in a very different place without her, and so would I.”
“I can’t adequately express the huge positive difference that Lynda has made to the international and UK abolitionist movement. She is a force for good and has gone away above and beyond her duties and roles and responsibilities at Women at the Well. Lynda has provided a meeting space, a friendly environment, and an exceptionally helpful framework in which to develop all manner of change.”
“I first met Lynda several years ago – her reputation via my partner, Julie, preceded her – and she lived up to expectations – a kick arse, passionate feminist nun, absolutely dedicated to crushing the sex trade and improving women’s lives, using whatever means necessary (almost).”
“Lynda is a visionary, with an effervescent personality and with a BIG Mercy heart. Thank you Lynda for who you are and for what you have enabled, with staff and volunteers at women@thewell. A wonderful legacy to be continued into the future for vulnerable women. With huge gratitude, love and every blessing in your Ministry for the Institute of Mercy. ”
