Homeless Oxfordshire has announced an appeal for donations to improve its provisions for women experiencing homelessness.
The Her Way Home appeal hopes to expand the charity’s women-only accommodation and enable them to provide round-the-clock support, therapy, and counselling services. In a new webpage dedicated to the appeal, Homeless Oxfordshire also outlined its aspiration to provide women with the tools they need to find stable housing.
Gender-based violence is a critical issue among women experiencing homelessness. The homelessness charity the Single Homeless Project calls domestic abuse a “near-universal” experience for homeless women. In addition, 64% of women experiencing homelessness face mental health problems. Verity Wootton, a manager at the Women’s Project, Homeless Oxfordshire’s women-only property in Oxford, called the proposed “24/7 wraparound support” a “lifeline” for women using the charity’s services.
The proposed funding would aim to address the issue of understaffing, particularly at weekends. This problem has previously forced the charity to refer some women, including those escaping domestic abuse, to mixed-gender hostels.
The National Women’s Rough Sleeping Census 2023 found that gender bias in existing government counts meant that women were likely to be “significantly underrepresented in rough sleeping data”. For example, women experiencing homelessness are more likely to find shelter in “hidden”, indoor spaces than men. The Single Homeless Project found that the Government’s rough sleeping count might only account for one-ninth of women sleeping rough in England.
On a local level, figures released in 2024 revealed that the number of people sleeping rough in Oxford had risen 70% in the previous year. The increase across England was only 27%.
Cherwell has approached Homeless Oxfordshire and the student group Turl Street Homeless Action for comment.
