Our Impact
Over nearly two decades, we have worked with thousands of women.
Last year, 3,521 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 with someone to talk to if you want to.
Women tell us that there is no other place like us in central London. They tell us they feel safe here. We are a community where women know they can keep coming back, 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, without intruding on what brought you here.
For women who feel ready to use our Support & Advocacy service, which was accessed by 1,144 women last year, one-to-one support is usually available immediately or very soon. A link worker will work with each woman to consider goals and develop a practical plan for accompaniment to address housing, welfare, and health needs. We are available to discuss how we measure and evaluate this work; very broadly speaking, we help women make progress 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 for whom there are concerns.
We offer one-to-one support to these women when they are ready, and we keep in touch with scores of women at any given time. Our assessment 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.