Change Grow Live has taken part in a ground-breaking project to address the unique challenges faced by women experiencing homelessness.
The National Women’s Rough Sleeping Census, led by Solace Women’s Aid and the Single Homeless Project, aims to uncover the hidden reality of women’s homelessness and the challenges that are often overlooked by traditional outreach services.
With Chantel Hopkins leading the initiative for our Leeds Street Outreach service, the project has helped to create a better understanding of women’s homelessness and what we can do to support the people who need it most.
Understanding the need
Homelessness among women often manifests in ways that make it harder to detect. Unlike men, women are less likely to sleep openly on streets due to safety concerns. Instead, they find shelter in precarious situations, such as staying with strangers, engaging in sex work, or seeking refuge in 24-hour establishments like fast food restaurants or libraries.
“So many women are transient when they’re homeless,” Chantel explained. “They move between places like drug dens, stay with men, or ride buses all night. These women are effectively homeless, but because they aren’t rough sleeping in a visible way, they’re missed by conventional outreach.”
The National Women’s Rough Sleeping Census was first introduced in 2023, with support from Change Grow Live, to bridge this gap and help bring the complex realities of women’s homelessness to light.
In Leeds, data gathered by Change Grow Live alongside other organisations has helped to create a broader understanding of women’s situations and their support needs.
Sleeping rough on the streets was the most common experience, followed by women who reported walking all night to stay safe. Many said they sought refuge in temporary or unsafe places, while others stayed with friends, relatives or strangers. Some spent their nights in A&E waiting rooms, in cars, or in fast food restaurants. One of the women who responded to the survey highlighted the danger: “It’s scary sleeping on the streets as a woman. I feel like more support is needed.”
The challenge of building trust
Building relationships with vulnerable women proved to be one of the most significant hurdles. “It’s been difficult because they don’t really know us yet, so they don’t trust us,” Chantel noted. Despite this, her team made progress by consistently engaging with women in targeted areas.
Chantel adapted outreach schedules to better align with women’s needs. “We started going out later at night – from 10pm to 2am – because that’s when women tend to sex work. During the day, we’d check libraries, McDonald’s and places like that,” she explained.
This persistence paid off. Chantel’s team successfully built rapport with some women, helping them secure accommodation and leave dangerous situations. “We’ve managed to get some women accommodated and out of harm’s way for the night,” she said.
A national effort
The census was part of a broader national initiative, expanding from its origins in London to 65 local authorities in 2024. Over 1,000 women participated in the 2024 survey, shedding light on the true extent of rough sleeping among women. Eleanor Greenhalgh, Women’s Rough Sleeping Policy Manager at Solace Women’s Aid, emphasised the significance of this work:
“These responses demonstrate once again that women’s rough sleeping is drastically underrepresented in statutory figures, and that gender-informed techniques can improve access to support for women.”
She also highlighted the contribution of our teams in delivering the census. “The support of Change Grow Live has meant that the census team has been able to produce statistics, findings and reports that have had significant impact already, supporting services and authorities to write new policies; secure funding for specialist roles and accommodation to support women; and make longer-term gender-informed changes to practice.”
Addressing systemic barriers
One of the census’s most important takeaways was the urgent need for systemic change. Homeless women face unique obstacles in accessing services, particularly when it comes to securing housing.
“Women are often not believed,” Chantel said. “Some areas won’t accept the word of outreach teams to verify that a woman is rough sleeping. They expect to see her bedded down on the street, which doesn’t capture the reality of how women survive.”
This scepticism can lead to harmful practices. “We’ve heard stories of women being told to sleep under streetlights so they can be verified.”
Chantel advocates for a 'soft verification' process, similar to that adopted in Camden, where outreach teams’ assessments are trusted even if a woman is not visibly rough sleeping. “It’s about recognising the expertise of outreach workers who know these women and can confirm their circumstances,” she said.
She is also working on establishing a female-only hub for homeless women. The hub would provide a safe space for women to access services, discuss issues and de-escalate conflicts that sometimes arise on the streets.
“There’s a lot of conflict among women on the streets, and we don’t have anywhere specific for them,” Chantel said. The hub would bring together partners such as drug and alcohol services, Safer Leeds, and others to offer holistic support.
Eleanor Greenhalgh also reinforced the impact of the census in driving systemic change: “These findings have gained the sustained attention of regional and national governing bodies and made media headlines, helping to communicate this work to the public and local authorities across the country.”
The path forward
The Women’s Rough Sleeping Census has already led to tangible changes, such as increased awareness, better collaboration among agencies, and more tailored outreach practices. However, Chantel is clear that more work remains.
“We need to make this a national priority,” she said. “It’s great that services are doing something different because of the census, but we need government support to address these issues at scale.”
For Chantel, the ultimate goal is to ensure that no woman is left unsupported simply because her homelessness is less visible. By continuing to expand the Women’s Census and advocating for systemic change, she and her colleagues at Change Grow Live are paving the way for a more inclusive and compassionate approach to homelessness.
As Eleanor Greenhalgh put it, “Not only does the census collect data, but it is an example of successful collaboration of over 120 organisations and local authorities working together across sectors to make change for women. It shows the drive and dedication of practitioners throughout Change Grow Live and across the country in their tireless work to make the census happen each year.”