WGPlus (Archive)
For some even a warm & dry stable would be ‘heaven’ |
Lisa Dando, Director at Brighton Women’s Centre, writes about their new report 'Couples First? Understanding the needs of rough sleeping couples'. It looks at the experience of women in couples who are rough sleeping and makes recommendations for better understanding and supporting them. Homeless couples living on our streets, although not a new phenomenon has increased as the numbers of women sleeping rough has grown in number. However, with very little guidance available on how to help homeless couples, we were certain this was something that would benefit from greater research attention. Input from homeless services across the county stated that most of these relationships contain elements of abuse, violence, crime, drugs, sex work and/or exploitation. As a result, most couples on the street are seen as too volatile to be supported by traditional homelessness services, leading to them being rejected entry for a night’s stay at a shelter for example. However, many of these relationships are not consenting in the traditional sense. Many of the women in these relationships will have entered into the relationship for protection. Denying women access to shelter can be detrimental to their overall safety, not least because it means they must spend another night on the streets – frighteningly, life expectancy for a women living on the streets (43 years) is even lower than that of a man (47 years). |
Researched Links: |
HL: Coupling up - The danger of being a woman on the streets MHCLG: Supporting women experiencing homelessness conference Homeless Link: Homelessness through the lens of brain injury techUK: Guest blog - The Homelessness Reduction Act & Future of Homelessness With the weather turning colder Housing Options for Survivors of Domestic Abuse My 38 years in the world of rough sleeping by Jeremy Swain Coordinated services for women experiencing homelessness Supported housing - next steps: more oversight and transparency James Brokenshire announces £30m immediate support for rough sleepers Housing First - a solution for women experiencing multiple disadvantage? Homeless Couples: is it time for a new approach? Advanced ill health and homelessness: a complex issue Providing support for women experiencing homelessness |