Women navigate homelessness differently than men - and need services that are designed just for them -  to meet their unique needs and give women experiencing multiple disadvantage the support they deserve,

We’re putting our expertise into action by: opening more women-only services across London, partnering with other leading homelessness, womens and VAWG organisations, undertaking research into women's experiencing homelessness as well as influencing local authorities and service commissioners to develop and commission more gender-informed services.

Here are some of the ways we are working to support women experiencing multiple disadvantage; 

Housing First

Single Homeless Project was among the first organisations in the UK to pioneer the Housing First model with a pilot scheme in Camden in 2013, and it has since become an integral part of our approach. 

We have continued to develop and evolve the approach, delivering a Housing First pilot in Islington, alongside Solace, which applied the Housing First model in a gender-informed way.

You can download the full report on the pilot here.

Project Kali

In 2020, we opened a Pan-London Housing First service called Project Kali, supporting women with experience of homelessness and a history of offending.

The service aimed to address the significant challenges that women leaving prison face, with traditional housing models failing to provide for this cohort, often trapping women in a cycle of homelessness and re-offending. 

Our specialist Project Kali team offers intensive, wrap-around help designed to give our clients the best chance of living independently and sustaining tenancies. The service works with our clients' needs in a holistic way, knowing many women have experienced significant trauma and ensuring staff can quickly intervene in difficult situations and prevent the types of crises that can lead to re-offending.

The service has had some fantastic results, reducing offending by 93% and was recognised as 'Homelessness Project of the Year’ in the UK Housing Awards 2021.

The service works in partnership with Advance, a female-facing organisation which provides emotional and practical support to women in crisis and identifies women with multiple disadvantage who are at risk of homelessness following their release from prison.

Find out more about the project here.

The WiSER Project

Single Homeless Project is one of seven specialist charities participating in the WiSER Project, a specialist service to support women experiencing violence against women and girls (VAWG) and also severe and multiple disadvantage. 

The service mainly targets women who have not engaged with support services for an extended period and whose experience of VAWG intersects with severe disadvantage, increasing their vulnerability and risk.

Through a combination of outreach, one-to-one and group support work, WiSER helps women and girls to access safe housing and benefits, improve their health, build self-esteem and confidence, access work, education and training, engage with support services, and become financially independent. 

The project works with women and girls over 16 living in Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Islington, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Barnet and Tower Hamlets

Find out more about the service and its aims here.