Women-only emergency respite rooms are to be introduced in the Nottingham as part of a trial to help the rising number of female rough sleepers.
Nottingham City Council says evidence is growing more and more women are ending up on the streets and they are more likely to experience domestic and sexual abuse.
Public Health Nottingham estimates there at least 3,300 women who have complex needs – 70 per cent of which are likely to experience homelessness.
Last year, the government announced plans to trial 12 respite rooms – safe spaces to support women who are less likely to approach statutory services.
The local authority has been successful in winning £349,407 for part of the trial.
The money will be spent on the Helix Project – a one year project between local experts in rough sleeping including Emmanuel House and Juno Women’s Aid to provide short-term emergency respite accommodation with intensive support to female rough sleepers suffering violence and abuse.
The council says there is an “identified gap” in gender-specific services for vulnerable rough sleepers.
A delegated decision to accept the funding was made by the council this month and published on January 27.
Last year, homeless charity Framework said the number of rough sleepers in Nottingham is rising – and around two thirds of them are on the streets for the first time.
In the 12 months to October 2020, Framework’s outreach team worked with 760 people in the city.
For the same period to October 2021 the number climbed to 805.
New people arrive on the streets often as a result of relationship breakdowns, but also due to evictions for rent arrears and other reasons, the charity said.
