Over nearly two decades we have worked with thousands of women.

 Last year 1,347 women visited our women-only drop-in centre in King’s Cross where we provide food, warm showers, a laundry service, clothing and a gentle atmosphere where there is someone to talk to if you want to talk.

Women tell us that there is no other place to go like us in central London. They tell us they feel safe here. We are a community where women know they can keep coming back and will not be pressured and will not be turned away. Our programme of daily activities (including jewellery-making, manicures, reflexology, yoga) offers a way of being and doing with others but without intrusion into what brought you here.

For women who feel ready to use our Support & Advocacy service, which was accessed by 593 women last year, one-to-one support is usually immediately or very soon available. A link worker will work with each woman to think about goals and set about a practical plan for accompaniment to tackle housing, welfare and health needs. We are available to talk about how we measure and evaluate this work; very broadly speaking we help women make some progress across in more than three quarters of their areas of need.

Our Outreach Service has been carefully designed to go out and find women who may be living precariously and have multiple needs, but whom other services sometimes do not ‘see’. We accompany local authorities and others near us on rough-sleeping counts to help locate women who may be taking extra care not to be ‘seen’, and we stay in touch with local police, health services and many others to try to hear about women there are concerns for.

Last year our small outreach team reached 357 women this way. We offer one to one support to these women when they are ready, and we are keeping in touch with scores of women at any one time. Our measurement and evaluation of this work is interesting and we are available to discuss it. What we offer is unique and we know we are making a difference to women’s lives. We are often approached by statutory and other voluntary agencies for advice and support.