Give a woman the chance to rewrite her story

I’m Alice and I’m a Senior Caseworker at Glass Door Homeless Charity, specialising in helping guests with complex trauma and additional needs. We really need your help. 

This winter, I wanted to talk to you about how homelessness is affecting a growing number of women in London, and share the stories of just a few women we’ve helped together this year. 

Being homeless is a traumatising experience for anyone. But for women experiencing homelessness, the challenges and risks are even greater. My guests often tell me how scary it is to be a woman alone on the streets, left trying to navigate a system that isn’t set up to support or protect them. 

Last year, Glass Door supported 753 women – that’s 753 women out of thousands experiencing homelessness in our city, each with their own stories to tell, the fear they live with each day and their hopes for a better life. 

I’d like to tell you about just three of my guests, which I hope paints a picture of the reality of women’s homelessness.  

Aisha* was pregnant while staying in our Women’s Shelter for just over a month. While she was rough sleeping, she was sexually assaulted and became pregnant. Her local authority advised that they could not provide her with any accommodation until after her child had been born, leaving her with nowhere to turn except our Emergency Night Shelter.  

Soraya*, a young refugee woman, told us how as a victim of domestic violence, she had been forced to abandon her home so she could escape her abuser. But rather than finding safety, she was told she was not “priority need” for housing because she was no longer at risk of harm from her perpetrator.  

Jane*, in her 60s, had been staying in her local church and working a physical job on a zero hour contract. When the church could no longer host her, she became homeless. We submitted a homeless application but failed to hear back from her local council for three whole months, despite informing them that she had several serious health conditions and needed support. 

Can you imagine what it’s like to be a woman on the streets of London, with nowhere to turn for help? 

Perhaps, for you, it is unimaginable. But unfortunately, these are the realities of many women we help. 

However, this isn’t how the story ends. 

After working with me and my Casework colleagues, all three women have now left homelessness behind – two of them are now in stable housing, and one of them is staying in a woman’s refuge awaiting the birth of her child.  

And that’s only the beginning. 

This year, we helped 693 women access expert casework advice, where they received practical support and found solutions to complex problems. We gave 214 women safe shelter over the cold winter months, including a hot meal every day, cooked by compassionate volunteers. 76% of those women had previously been sleeping rough on the streets, but we ensured they had somewhere safe to go. 

This winter, will you help another woman, with her own story to tell, take her first steps out of homelessness? 

Help a woman rewrite her story

What are the issues we face when supporting women? 

The 2024 Women’s Rough Sleeping Census found that there are over 10 times more women sleeping rough in England than what is stated in official statistics, meaning policies and services related to homelessness are not set up to meet the scale of the problem.  

Many women remain invisible and become “hidden homeless”, often having no choice but to resort to sofa-surfing in vulnerable situations, sleeping on public transport during the day, or staying in temporary and often unsuitable accommodation, sometimes with their children. But they are not invisible to us. 

Pregnant women who are staying in our shelters have described walking the streets all day as they have nowhere safe to go.  

How Glass Door changes lives  

As a Senior Caseworker, I provide expert advice and advocacy to my guests, helping them access healthcare, find employment, escape modern slavery and domestic violence, and most importantly, find a permanent route out of homelessness. 

Our Emergency Women’s Night Shelter opened on the 10th of November, offering refuge during the coldest nights and access to one-to-one advice and support from my Casework colleagues. 

Why we need you 

While Londoners keep warm this winter, hundreds of women will be walking through the night, trying to stay safe. 

Your donation will open the door to safety and support and enable us to help many more women like the guests I’ve told you about today. She’s someone’s sister, daughter, mother, or friend, and she deserves your help. 

Every day working as a Glass Door Caseworker is different and brings new challenges, but I love my job, and I couldn’t do it without generous and compassionate supporters like you. On behalf of every woman we support, I’d like to thank you for ensuring more women have a safe home this Christmas. 

Together, we can give a woman more than shelter this winter – we can give her the chance to rewrite her story. 

Donate to our Winter Appeal

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*All guest names have been changed to protect their identities.