We are located in an area of London which has been ‘regenerated’ and has seen global companies locate their headquarters in the beautiful local canal area over the last 10-15 years. Last year we had 1,347 women visit us for basic needs support (food, clothing, showers, toiletries, laundry), and our small outreach team spoke to 357 women living in very precarious circumstances, including rough-sleeping.

All of the women we work with have homelessness and housing problems. Forty percent of them need help to access critical physical and mental healthcare. Four out of five of them tell us they have histories of domestic and sexual abuse.

It is known that women who experience repeated and extensive abuse face very high rates of homelessness, mental health problems, addictions and poverty. We witness these women’s high risk of being drawn into prostitution and sexual exploitation and in the context of their disadvantages, but no part of public services (and few charities) provide the holistic and trauma-informed support that is needed to end and further prevent these harms.