How we help women at Glass Door – Women's Month 2026

We’re kicking off Women’s Month 2026 with a blog spotlighting women’s homelessness and our services for women at Glass Door Homeless Charity.  

Every year, Women’s Month and International Women’s Day aim to raise awareness of women’s issues and experiences around the world, providing space for us to spotlight women’s homelessness and the experiences of our women guests. 

This doesn’t mean that conversations around women should only take place in March – our latest Glass Door film told three stories inspired by women we supported last year, and we run gender and trauma-informed services for women facing and experiencing homelessness all year round. 

However, it does create an opportunity for us to dig deeper into the most pressing issues women experiencing homelessness are facing, look closely at our frontline data, and shine light on the people behind our women’s services at Glass Door – whether that’s our guests, staff or volunteers. 

How does women’s homelessness present? 

Women’s homelessness often flies under the radar as it appears less prevalent than it actually is – many women experience ‘hidden homelessness’, which can include rough sleeping out of sight, sofa-surfing, sleeping on public transport, staying in temporary accommodation, living in overcrowded accommodation and more. 

Often, it will be a mixture of the above, and the transient nature of women’s homelessness has historically made it more difficult to maintain accurate data about the true number of women experiencing homelessness. It is transient predominantly because women often move around to find the safest place to sleep. 

For example, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) is a multi-agency database that provides in-depth information about the number of rough sleepers in the UK, but even that data vastly underestimates the number of women experiencing homelessness – according to the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census 2024, there are around 10 times more women rough sleeping than official statistics show.  This is because women are often hidden away from outreach teams or unknown to services. 

Over the years, it has become more and more evident that women’s homelessness is a growing issue and requires a tailored approach, and this has led to an increase in provisions created specifically for women, women’s homelessness research, and resources like the Women’s Census. 

Women’s Services at Glass Door Homeless Charity 

This winter has been our third year running a Women’s Winter Night Shelter and dedicated Women’s Drop-in service. We also ensure that our other services are gender and trauma-informed so that we can offer suitable support for women experiencing homelessness in London all year round. 

Women’s Winter Night Shelter 

During the winter months, our Women’s Night Shelter is an inclusive space for women to sleep, eat a nutritious evening meal, and meet with a Glass Door Caseworker who can help them resolve their homelessness.  

All staff and volunteers with front-facing roles in the women’s shelter are also women, and the intention is to create a safe, calm space where women guests feel able to share their stories and disclose information in an environment where they feel comfortable and know they will be treated with empathy.  

There are spaces for up to 35 women every night, but our women guests stay as long as they need, whether that’s a few nights or several months. We also offer a mixed gender night shelter that has up to five spaces for women. 

Women’s Drop-in  

Our Women’s Drop-in runs weekly alongside our night shelter service in the winter, giving guests from the Women’s Night Shelter the opportunity to meet with a woman Caseworker on a one-to-one basis. The drop-in also provides a chance for women guests to get together in a welcoming environment and chat to volunteers, and there are often hot drinks and homemade cakes to share.  

The purpose of the drop-in is to extend the safe, welcoming environment of the Women’s Night Shelter to our Casework Service, offering our women shelter guests a gender-informed space to work with a Caseworker and start building a route out of homelessness.