SCT launches permanent Women’s Group at our Homeless Drop-in.

A few years ago, we noticed a spike in the number of women visiting our drop-in. We quickly realised that this was a wider trend – with St Mungo’s reporting that more women were sleeping rough across the UK.

In 2017, 14% of rough sleepers were women – that’s up by 2% since 2016.

Running out of the landing area in St Leonard’s Church, we began trialing women-only sessions last year. And today, they have become a regular feature of our Drop-in.

Tucked away up a spiraling staircase, the women meet every week to paint, collage, eat and engage in other activities while supporting each other in a safe space.

“A sense of safety is very important for the women who come to our Drop-in. We are creating this together through activities and chats around the table week by week,” said art teacher, Anna Sikorska.

Many women who visit our Drop-in have experienced domestic abuse before becoming homeless, and many continue to face violence living on the streets.

The Group offers women a place where they can pick up new skills, have a break from their daily lives and make friends.

Women from all kinds of backgrounds come to sessions each week. Some are rough sleepers, some are in active addiction and have a long history of homelessness, and others are managing mental health problems.

We also have a few asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants, who are some of the most vulnerable women attending the Drop-in.

With the help of our Drop-in managers, we sign-post women to services that can address their various needs.

You can find the women’s group at The Landing in St Leonard’s Church every Tuesday morning. If you would like to know more or to get involved just get in touch with Verna at verna.coke@sct.org.uk.