Women and Multiple Social & Health Inequalities

ALT Four blue circles each with a quote from a workshop with women with lived experience of accessing homelessness services about what they hope the future of those services looks like. They hope for an increase in outreach work because services need to be more visible, safe spaces that are accessible to people throughout the city, raised awareness about how people become homeless and what its like to be homeless, and a women's health van that will be mobile and accessible to women experiencing homelessness.

ALT Speech bubbles containing quotes from reports exploring service provision for women experiencing multiple disadvantage and homelessness. They have a lot of mistrust of services, Stakeholder one. It is simple, everybody needs some support, stability, trust and respect. With all this our mental health would be better, expert by experience one. It just makes your mental health deteriorate, it makes you feel frustrated, it makes me angry because nobody want to listen, expert by experience two. There isn't ever time to heal, stakeholder two. I just want my children back and to live with my kids, that's all i want, expert by experience three.

ALT Improving support for women with experience of multiple disadvantage, Growing links between research and policy What we already know… Women’s homelessness is often referred to as ‘hidden’ and ‘invisible’. Locally, there was surprise at how many women came forward for accommodation during ‘Everyone In’. Recent NICE guidance on integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness calls for consideration of gender and trauma informed approaches. Generic services for people with experience of multiple disadvantage (which may have been designed around the needs of men) do not appear to be as effective for women. Local research conducted by CHAD and Expert Citizens sheds light on women’s lived experiences and some of the complexities and challenges faced around accessing and engaging with support such as a perceived lack of support available, the impact of complex trauma, interpersonal relationships and violence against women and girls, acknowledging women as mothers.