Support Work at The Well

25th April 2024. Article by Zandalee Clarke.

This week, I speak with one of our frontline women’s advocates. We delve into the challenges faced by frontline workers supporting vulnerable women in London whilst navigating complex needs. From bureaucratic hurdles to societal stigmas, we discuss the intricate web of obstacles hindering effective intervention strategies and take a look at how these frontline realities drive the need for systemic change in supporting marginalised women…

I want to start by asking you something that will hopefully get you fired up. What has been a barrier for you in your role this week?

This week I’ve found it very time consuming chasing other services. When one service is under pressure it does have a ‘domino-effect’ and usually the people who end up worse off are the women we’re working to support.

Also, I’ve been in touch with local authorities a lot this week for different reasons and have been really affected by the processes. I think the main point I take away from these interactions is that they have guidelines which are not from a place of empathy, I understand that they have to meet certain expectations and tick boxes but there needs to be more of an emphasis on understanding and working with people who are struggling with their mental health.

You work directly with women seeking support from W@TW. What are the specific challenges that women face which necessitate the existence of this particular service centre?

Many women we work with aren’t aware of their rights and entitlements, so as a support worker at The Well, it means we can actually take the time when working one to one to signpost to different available resources and avenues for help. It may sound simple but as someone who has worked for different support services before, it is really valuable to have that client-led approach. We always encourage women to make informed decisions by laying out all of their options, we encourage them to give their feedback and we try to build a relationship where they feel they can voice their opinions - so it’s not a dictatorship but a partnership.

Also, perhaps an obvious one is that there is simply a lack of women only spaces in London. Given the complex trauma that women experience, it’s so refreshing to be able to offer a space like this where women can feel comfortable to take the time they need to receive the help they need.

W@TW specialises in cases of sexual exploitation, can you speak a little bit about your response to that this year?

One thing I’ve learned in this role is that the way in which women are sexually exploited is constantly evolving - there are so many situations that we see which differ from one another and we have continued to see this range of circumstances this year.

For example, sometimes it can be in the form of exchanging sex for drugs and/or accommodation - and perhaps not being aware that this is exploitation.
 
Also when exploitative behaviour has been normalised, or when women we work with have experienced childhood abuse, it means there is an extra layer of barrier to recognising and accessing help. 

Back to working with other services for a moment  - what are some of the things you find yourself doing here that you feel other services may not be?

 Benefit application forms are a big one, also accommodation referrals are always needed (but other services can do this). Recently we’ve seen a rise in women needing assistance in booking healthcare appointments - for example going to the Dentist or Doctor.

I think there’s a lack of awareness from public services about some of the barriers that women with complex needs face when accessing healthcare, especially when systems are online or when you have to call and advocate for yourself. Something that others might perceive as a ‘slight inconvenience’ - for example, downloading an app or having a code sent to your mobile - can effectively stop women from getting the help they desperately need.

Can you share an example of an instance where you felt your efforts in your role were hindered by external factors (beyond your control)?

Yes, so as an organisation we can’t directly refer into the NRM (National Referral Mechanism) but we are grateful to have a connection with first responder agencies who can refer women into the NRM.  

I was working with a woman who was still living with her perpetrator whilst accessing our service and trying to be referred to the NRM. She’d been engaging with me at the service for two weeks and I’d been gathering information for the referral and offering support, basically building up her confidence to talk about her experience and establishing the trusting relationship I spoke of earlier. From an administration perspective, I’d got to the stage where I’d collated everything required from our end, to pass over to the agency. When I got in touch with the first responder, they said they were currently at capacity and we were told that the process would have to wait for another two weeks. 

The woman I was working with had no recourse to public funds and we’d been working to an initial timeline that we thought was reasonable (and managing expectations around that). When the goalposts were moved again it felt like I was letting her down. Also for her to be in this state of limbo, waiting to make an application which, once progressed, still could be turned down means that your head can be all over the place. The fact that we still had the immediate issue of the living situation also made this extremely complex. 

We were in a fortunate position to have funding which is ringfenced for accommodation and we used these funds to solve the immediate problem of her residing with her abuser, moving her into a hotel while we awaited the result of the NRM application. Even though this seems like a good temporary solution, there is a lot of elements to it that can be re-traumatising, for example, being alone in a hotel for hours at a time while awaiting a verdict, potentially reliving past experiences.

In what ways do societal stigmas surrounding addiction, homelessness, and mental health affect your interactions with both the women you support and the wider community?

Stigmas stop women from sharing. They’re afraid they will be judged and therefore it stops them asking for help when they’ve hit a hurdle and then getting adequate support. I think in today’s society, mental health has a lot less stigma, however drug use is not yet fully understood by many people – this lack of understanding fuels a culture of blame and the women we support often tell us this can lead to feelings of shame.  there is a lot of blame placed on the women and the women take on a lot of shame because of it.

Have there been times when you've felt disillusioned or discouraged in your role? 

I have to remind myself that the quality of the good days far outweighs the quantity of the bad days. The women we work with have all had their own unique experiences and their ‘progress’ can’t be measured in a linear way, so sometimes staying in the same place as in, not regressing, means progress. Coming to our service is progress too, so if a woman comes every day and doesn’t engage with our Support but does accesses the Drop-In as a safe space, this is a win. It’s reducing the potential for other risk seeking behaviour or exploitation and that should be celebrated in and of itself. 

Finally, what changes or improvements do you believe are necessary at both the organisational and societal levels to better support women with complex needs and create more effective intervention strategies?

I think it would be wonderful to see people becoming more trauma-informed in their workplaces (no matter what industry they may be in) because this is relevant both in an office and out in society. To that point, it’s interesting that ‘Enquiries and Disclosures’ aren’t addressed by state or public health, what I mean is, it’s no one’s job to enquire about trauma and therefore people do “fall through the gaps”.

Not to sound like a broken record but honestly, having more women-only spaces really can’t be overlooked.