The team are thrilled by the progress of our Haven pilot project, a new overnight drop-in space for homeless and vulnerable women in Cambridge. The project has been open for 4 months now, offering respite and a supportive space for women in need. We have been working closely with the Women’s Homelessness Action Group which ITAC helps facilitate, as well as other local organisations to provide holistic support for the women accessing the service.
The number of women has been steadily increasing and we have now welcomed over 15 individuals into the Haven, with some women consistently using the space, highlighting the impact of the service on providing continuity and safety. One woman noted that ‘coming here is the highlight of the week’.
We have begun to offer specific activities during the evenings, including our recent bunting decorating and crafts evening which was very successful (and has left plenty of glitter around the space!) and a pampering evening with a foot spa.
We are also developing our network of volunteers to support and are incredibly grateful to the many women who are coming along to cook, clean and arrange the space to make it homely and welcoming. Women coming into the Haven are forming trusting relationships with our volunteer team who are around in the early hours of the evening supporting our two full time staff members.
The Haven has recently garnered media attention when we had the chance to talk to BBC Cambridgeshire about the project, and were featured on BBC Politics East and BBC Look East. ITAC and the WHAG over the years have been raising women’s homelessness as an important area of work and are thrilled that it is now beginning to be taken more seriously.
In addition to the Haven project, ITAC supported Cambridge’s second homeless women’s ‘Census’ which was organised by Change Grow Live this September to better identify the number of women rough sleeping in the city, essential work to continue building the case for women-only provision.
To find out more about how you can support The Haven please email haven-info@itac.org.uk
