A specialist project designed to protect some of Merseyside's most vulnerable could be shut down unless vital funding is secured.
Red Umbrella seeks to protect street sex workers from violence, abuse and trafficking.
It also encourages victims to report crimes committed against them - which has proved crucial to bringing dangerous offenders including rapists to justice.
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Red Umbrella plays a unique role in supporting people across the region, including women with complex needs and those who have experienced trauma, childhood abuse and exploitation.
It works to provide a link between those selling sex as a means of survival with support from the authorities, offering them access to food, contraception and healthcare services.
The service also encourages those it helps to report crimes committed against them - removing thugs responsible for acts of sexual violence from the streets of Merseyside.
One extreme case was that of violent serial rapist Eugen Ancuta, who was jailed for 18 years.
Ancuta had raped, brutalised and battered three Liverpool sex workers over the course of a three-day rampage, but thanks to Red Umbrella his victims were traced and provided vital evidence via the service.
Explaining the value of the support provided by the organisation, service manager Rachel Fowler said: "Too often, people selling sex fear that their reports will not be taken seriously or that they will be reprimanded by the police.
"While not all people feel they are exposed to harm, many of the people we support have existing vulnerabilities, such as experiences of addiction, homelessness, poor mental and physical health, poverty, exploitation and abuse.
"These vulnerabilities make them easy targets, with perpetrators believing they won't report crimes, that nobody is looking out for them, or that they are undeserving of support.
"Together with Merseyside Police, Red Umbrella has helped remove some of the barriers for people selling sex to report crimes and to feel confident they will be believed and supported when reporting cases of abuse and violence against them."
Despite the value of the project, it is now at risk of closure in March 2022.
Those behind Red Umbrella fear this threatens to put people who are selling sex at further risk of harm and are urging anyone with access to funding networks to support their work.
Detective Superintendent Siobhan Gainer, head of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MRVP), said: “The MRVP assisted with the funding of the Red Umbrella programme because it recognised that it was making a tangible difference to some of the most vulnerable women in Merseyside.
"Ours is the only force area in the country to class crimes against sex workers as hate crimes and together with our colleagues at Merseyside Police we treated the people we served as being trauma survivors.
"This policy insured that more crimes were reported, and a better dialogue established.
"What this programme needs, is sustainable funding. The kind of relationships Red Umbrella has forged are not made overnight.
"This programme is innovative, effective, and preventative. What it needs is someone to support it long-term and indeed set-up similar projects elsewhere.
"Merseyside and its communities need Red Umbrella to support vulnerable people and assist in preventing crimes against sex workers."
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