Current barriers to ending homelessness for our women guests – Women's Month 2025

Content warning: This page contains reference to domestic abuse.

Welcome to our third Quarterly Frontline Snapshot – spotlighting the current barriers our Casework colleagues are facing when supporting women facing homelessness into safe and stable accommodation this winter. 

Glass Door Homeless Charity’s year-round casework service operates out of partnering day centres in West and South West London, providing expert advice and support to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. For the second year we’ve offered a weekly women’s casework drop-in for our women’s shelter guests. Our open access policy means that no matter who you are or where you are from, you can turn to us for support. 

Over the last few weeks, we've been having conversations with our wonderful caseworkers, asking them about the current challenges they face when it comes to supporting women guests at our night shelters and in one-to-one support sessions.  

What are some of the biggest barriers our guests and caseworkers currently face? 

In our December Quarterly Frontline Snapshot, the three main challenges that we discussed were the way the benefits system is failing pensioners, a lack of landlord accountability, and limitations on mental health support. 

While these barriers are still present for our caseworkers, we’re focusing on challenges that are more specific to our women guests and women’s services for this Women’s Month issue. 

Lack of suitable housing options for women  

“Quite a few women guests are refusing accommodation because there is a lack of high-quality options available. What they're being offered is often a shared house with several men and women living there, and these are often young refugee women who feel unsafe to live with men and want to be near their community.

I can understand why they refuse it, however there's not much else we can get for them. It’s a challenge to help them see that it might be their only option.

— Alice, Senior Caseworker, Multiple Disadvantage

The issue around a lack of suitable housing options for women is a two-pronged issue. On the one hand, there is a total lack of suitable accommodation options, especially for women who are dealing with previous traumas – even more so if their trauma relates to men. The only real option, particularly for women under 35 years old, is supported accommodation that most likely involves sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities with several other people.  

This is because under-35s only have access to the shared accommodation rate of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), which often isn’t even enough to pay for a room. So, the only option left is supported accommodation, but you need to have support needs to be able to apply for it. Even if you’re eligible, there are very few available placements. 

The other issue is that there are several barriers that get in the way of women feeling safe enough to accept the accommodation options that are available. Women who have experience of domestic abuse often don’t feel comfortable accepting housing where they have to share with men, but there aren’t alternative options available. There may also be cultural or religious reasons for refugee women not wanting to share accommodation with men, but there is a distinct lack of women-only housing options. 

Some women may find it difficult to accept shared accommodation, especially since many have been through domestic abuse. This leaves them feeling anxious about sharing a space with men, as they fear for their safety.

 — Grace, Caseworker 

It's understandable that women want to be close to their community and comfortable where they live, so they can rely on friends, family and trusted support services. However, it is rare that there are housing options available in these areas, with many more options existing on the outskirts of London, or even outside of the city. Explaining this is particularly challenging when there is a language barrier, as it may not be clear that if they reject this offer of housing, they may have no choice but to sleep rough while further options are explored.  

However, knowing that their options are limited doesn’t prevent women from feeling anxiety around accepting accommodation shared with men. Grace, one of our caseworkers, explains: 

"Women who are priority need and eligible for council housing, sometimes hesitate to accept shared accommodation with men. These women are usually well-informed about the system and aware that leaving or 'absconding', so called ‘secure housing’ could lead to being deemed intentionally homeless by the council.

They also understand that once placed in housing, there is minimal support to help them transition to a safer and more stable living situation, which leaves them fearing they could become trapped in an unsafe environment. Equally, their options are typically very limited and rarely meet their needs." 

Limited housing support for women experiencing domestic abuse 

I've had guests suffering from domestic abuse who have made homeless applications, then they’ll be told that they’re actually not priority need because now they're on the streets and are no longer with the perpetrator. While I'm trying to fight all of this, I'm also trying to get them into a refuge.

— Grace 

We know from experience that there are gaps in the system when it comes to supporting women who are experiencing or escaping domestic violence and are therefore at risk of homelessness. In most cases, victims of domestic violence (DV) who have left their perpetrator are considered to be in priority need for housing by the council, but their eligibility can vary depending on the local authority, and it can sometimes be the case that women are not seen as vulnerable once they no longer live with the perpetrator.

A consequence of this is that some women are left feeling like there’s nowhere to go and are more likely to go back to their abuser to avoid homelessness. Staying with their abuser gives women the immediate security of a roof over their heads, but additionally, they are more likely to be given priority for emergency housing support. Through the flaws in this system, women are forced to sacrifice their own safety to stay off the streets. There are no options in this scenario where the woman is protected.  

This issue is even more complicated for women asylum seekers who are experiencing domestic abuse and homelessness, as they may have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), and it may take a long time for caseworkers to resolve any immigration issues and find housing for them. In many cases, they may be unable to resolve these issues. A person has no recourse to public funds when they are ‘subject to immigration control’, and so they are unable to claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state, at a time when they are very vulnerable and need support. 

“It’s difficult to house guests with complex human rights cases, as there’s no emergency housing provision. You have to wait, and you try and keep the women updated, but suddenly they might disappear, and you don't know where they've gone", says Frances, our Migrant Project Caseworker.

It really worries you, especially if they have any history of domestic violence. You don't stop worrying about where they might have gone because they didn't feel there was any hope left of being housed.

When a woman experiencing domestic violence comes to Glass Door, after making a Homeless Application, our caseworkers are often left with the only option of contacting a woman’s refuge – a safe temporary accommodation created specifically for women escaping domestic abuse. However, a refuge is only a temporary fix, and it can be tricky to find spaces for women in refuges, due to high demand and a shortage of refuge spaces. Despite their best efforts, the current system means that our caseworkers are often unable to find adequate new housing for women fleeing domestic abuse. 

Priority is not always given to pregnant women guests

If you're not pregnant enough, local authorities are unlikely to take you on, because you're not considered priority need. Our shelter isn't really appropriate for people with very high physical needs like a difficult pregnancy, but this is the best option they’ve got.

— Zara, Caseworker 

In theory, pregnant women experiencing homelessness are supposed to be considered priority need and be quickly moved into temporary accommodation, but our Glass Door caseworkers have multiple accounts of local authorities only helping women who have been pregnant for a certain number of months.  

This is shocking, as women are less likely to carry their unborn children to full term if they are experiencing homelessness, due to being more susceptible to illness, malnourishment and harm. A report by Channel 4 Dispatches and the Royal College of Midwives found that 95% of the midwives surveyed said they believe that homelessness puts the health of pregnant mothers and their unborn babies at risk. 

Alice, our Multiple Disadvantage Senior Caseworker, gave us an example of what she's been seeing:

We’ve already had six pregnant women this season. I had one case that was completely shocking. She was over five months pregnant, had made a homeless application a month ago and should never have had to come to us.

"If you make a homeless application, and you're pregnant, they should just be placing you immediately. But they had left her for a month, so she had been sofa-surfing, going to A&E regularly, and was malnourished and not doing well.”

You can read more about this issue and the pregnant women guests we’ve been supporting in our recent blog written by Alice. 

Why we need women’s homelessness services 

The success of our gender-informed services, including our women’s shelter and weekly casework drop-in, have demonstrated just how much they are needed. In last year’s very first Women’s Report, we found that 62% of the women we supported in 2023/24 preferred a single-gender environment, and we’re continuing to see the benefits of expanding our services to acknowledge the unique challenges that women experiencing homelessness face.

Last year, our women's shelter got a lot of praise for housing outcomes and really good teamwork. And I think this year will be the same. I believe that we had many successful housing outcomes. It proves that we need women's spaces.

— Zara 

You can read our previous Quarterly Frontline Snapshots from December and September if you want to find out more about some of the other barriers our caseworkers regularly face when supporting all of our guests. 

This is our final blog for Women’s Month 2025, but if you’re interested in women’s homelessness and what we’re doing to help, you can read Anna’s International Women’s Day blog on how we can collaborate for change, and the profile on our Women’s Drop-in casework sessions. 

“At Glass Door, we acknowledge that women experience homelessness differently to men. Guided by the principles of equity, our multiple specialisms – open access shelter provision, migrant homelessness, housing, and casework – are tailored to support each individual guest on their route out of homelessness."

— Anna Yassin, Migrant Project and Advocacy Manager, quoted in our Women’s Report.