How two nuns helped transform Birmingham’s most notorious red light zone

It was Birmingham’s most notorious red light zone until the community decided enough was enough. Cheddar Road in Balsall Heath was synonymous with vice until radical changes were made with the help of two nuns.

Sisters Magdalene Matthews and Maisie Nevin arrived in the area in 1986 on a mission to provide a helping hand to women vulnerable to exploitation. They offered cups of tea rather than judgment and a listening ear to show they were not alone.

The pair managed to pull some women away from sex work and laid the foundation for Anawim, a charity that supports vulnerable women. Its mission is to support women battling addiction, abuse or involvement in crime.

READ MORE: Balsall Heath ‘spiralling back to lawlessness’ – 30 years after pimps and gangs ruled the streets

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CEO Joy Doal said it all started in 1700s France, where street prostitution and homelessness was rife in a particular area. A Catholic father was pushed to do something and set up an order of sisters to reach out to women involved in prostitution.

The order helped women through the ages and eventually made a difference in Balsall Heath. “The area was well-known, you had women working from the windows as well as the street,” Joy said.

“It was accepted and normalized, you had groups of six or eight women on street corners and women working from their houses as well. It was Amsterdam style really. They were feisty, strong women.

“Yes there was vulnerability and pimps but no other crime. Years later it changed and there was more drug use.”

Cheddar Road was a notorious no-go area, with 450 girls selling themselves in the late 80s and early 90s. Locals witnessed violence and hardened condom-littered streets. One resident recalled a pregnant woman beaten by pimps because she didn’t make enough money.

Joy said: “All the sisters are very intelligent women, they were involved in the community and very much out in the world. They bought a house on that street and started reaching out to the women. They would take cups of tea and sandwiches and just chat, they became friends with the women.

“Over time they invited the women over, they had a little daycare and some computers. They gradually responded to the needs the women presented to them.

“Most of the women had children living with them and were fairly stable. They did help women exit if they wanted to, but they very much wanted to be non-judgmental. They were there to support. They were not moralistic and trying to make they change.”

The sisters were provided a small house in Harborne where they housed some women wanting to leave Balsall Heath. A few staff members and a daycare center were all they had but some women managed to turn their lives around and secured part-time jobs.

They were also able to get their children into school and become more stable. Meanwhile residents decided to reclaim their streets and drive out crime. Forums and a neighborhood watch were established and crime rates dropped by more than 30 percent.

Eventually the pimps and gangsters were chased out. It would be years until Anawim became an official charity after partnering with Father Hudson’s Society, continuing the sisters’ mission to help women no matter their circumstances.

The charity offers a place to stay when women are leaving prison or a place to visit when things are tough. It also provides courses, activities, counseling, parenting support, care, clothing and food.

Both sisters have now died but Joy said she treasured their legacy: “They were a strong foundation for Anawim, their non-judgemental attitude, compassion and ability to rejoice in small changes. Those things underpin our work, we try to look for the small ways women can make changes in their lives.”

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