New women-only homeless support service 'essential'

Diana Minns volunteers at The Haven and said women-only services were "essential"

A support service for vulnerable and homeless women has opened in Cambridge.

A volunteer at The Haven said the women-only space was "essential".

Women "come with trauma and they can be re-triggered", she said.

The service is open two nights a week for a one-year pilot.

The Haven is open twice a week from 8pm to 8am. Recent activities have included baking, a foot spa evening and making Hallowe'en bunting

Diana Minns, 76, volunteers at The Haven. She fled from an abusive relationship in the 1990s.

She said "many, many homeless women have experienced domestic abuse".

"That does leave its scar on you and it can easily be re-triggered in difficult circumstances."

Vulnerable women may not feel safe at mixed services, Ms Minns added.

"To come into a place where you may encounter men when you're in a vulnerable stage in your life is not easy."

The Haven is staffed entirely by women, including a female security guard.

It is run by It Takes a City, an organisation working to end homelessness in Cambridge.

It started in June and opens on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8pm until 8am the following morning. It is funded by Cambridge City Council, through a grant from the former Department for Levelling Up.

Women do not need a referral and can drop in for food, clothes and activities, as well as health services and advice.

Recent activities have included baking, making Hallowe'en bunting and a foot spa evening.

Around 15 women have accessed The Haven since it opened

According to a 2021 report from the Centre for Homelessness Impact, there is a "strong link between violence and homelessness amongst women".

It added that national data showed one in five women who have experienced violence become homeless, compared to 1% of women who have not experienced violence.

Ms Minns said many women who had come to The Haven had suffered trauma in their past.

She added that women who have experienced abuse can feel "taken apart" by their partner.

"You’ve lost your self-confidence and lots of other things.

"You then have to re-build yourself - you've kind of forgotten who you are," she said.

The Haven, which has been set up in a two bedroom flat in the city, aims to help with that process.

It has seen around 15 women since it opened.

Alice Gilderdale hoped the service would help women on their journey out of homelessness

Alice Gilderdale, from It Takes a City, said the organisation expected higher demand in the winter months.

Women were generally "hidden homeless", she said.

"They walk around at night, they stay with abusive partners or they really hide themselves from services.

"At night is when women are most vulnerable."

She said she hoped The Haven would become "a place that really starts to build trust with women and shows women that there are people here to look after them".

That, she added, would "hopefully then start them on that journey out of homelessness".