'It's like we'd gone back to the 70s'

...the racial abuse crisis in our city

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People who had never been targeted became victims. People they thought were friendly with them were turning on them it was an overnight thing.

"They were being told to go back to where they came from. Some were physically attacked.

"There was criminal damage windows smashed, graffiti written on their houses. A lot of people were just scared to go out of their houses. I had never seen it on that scale before."

Rahana Bennett, 37 and from Aigburth, previously worked in education for the foundation, before she moved to the hate crime team to learn more about how the physical and emotional abuse affects people.

"What happens in August still affects people to this day," she told the ECHO.

"Some of the people we support still don't leave their houses because of what happened. You can see the effect it has had on their health. They have anxiety and depression. They're declining.

"Some of these have no-one else. No friends, no family. They are isolated and alone."

While August undoubtedly put the small team under a huge amount of pressure, the work they do is imperative throughout the year.

Between April 2024 and March this year, the team received 1,042 new referrals and supported 1,163 victims.