Single Homeless Project

Mind the Gap, they say on the Underground. But what about the gap in housing, support, and second chances? 🚇

While London’s transport has grown underground over the last 50 years, we’ve been working above ground — helping thousands of Londoners get back on track. 🤝

With over 50 years of working in this city, we celebrate the journeys that don’t appear on the map:
- The tens of thousands of lives we’ve supported.
- The incredible staff who’ve stood beside people through their toughest moments.
- And the volunteers, supporters, and partners who’ve made every step possible.

Here’s to 50 years of hope, housing, and belonging. And here’s to the journey ahead. 🌟

Women are not absent from our streets. They are absent from the data. 👤

Today we're publishing the Women's Rough Sleeping Census 2025 Report: 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 - a partnership between Single Homeless Project and Solace Women's Aid, alongside Crisis and Change Grow Live.

For the fourth year running, the census found women sleeping rough are still being missed because official systems are still looking for homelessness in the wrong places. 🔍

📊 The Census found up to 𝟭𝟬 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 than official counts.
📍𝟲𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗱 had survived in places 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 from official counts.
⚠️ In six local authority areas, official counts 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵, while the census identified 162.

But this report is not just a warning. It shows there is a better way to count, understand and respond to women's homelessness. 🚨

Now is the time and we'll be calling on the Government to make women’s homelessness visible and prevent more women falling through the cracks. 🫥

Read more about this vital report: www.shp.org.uk/women-sleeping-rough-still-missing-from-official-homelessness-figures-despite-years-of-evidence/

How can you find women experiencing if you're not looking where they are? 👀

For many women experiencing homelessness, sleeping on the street is simply too dangerous. Instead, they seek refuge on buses, in A&E waiting rooms, on public transport, or stay awake through the night to avoid violence, exploitation and assault.

The Women's Rough Sleeping Census 2025 shows why so many women are still missing from official homelessness figures: 𝟔𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬.

Women experiencing homelessness are not absent. Too often, they are simply being overlooked -> www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/women-homeless-sleeping-rough-figures-37276085

Great partnerships create lasting change... 🤜🤛

We're delighted to share that the 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀 has won the 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 at the 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. 🎉

This award celebrates the extraordinary collaboration behind the census, bringing together homelessness organisations, women's services and local authorities to uncover the true scale of women's rough sleeping and shine a light on the realities, risks and violence many women experiencing homelessness face.

Together, we're influencing policy at local and national levels, calling for greater recognition, better data and meaningful action so women get the support and protection they need.

Thank you to our partners, Solace Women's Aid, Change Grow Live, Crisis, and local authorities across the country who make this work possible.

When we work together, we can make women's homelessness impossible to ignore. 💜

Imagine you're 17. You've just come out to your family... and suddenly, home doesn't feel like home anymore.

Silence. Stares. Shouting. A slammed door.

For far too many LGBTQIA+ young people, this is reality.

We see it every day: young people told there's no place for them at home, forced to move from sofa to sofa, or even onto the streets, simply for being who they are.

At Single Homeless Project, we walk alongside young people rebuilding their lives after trauma. We don't just provide housing. We offer the understanding, stability and support they need to feel safe, valued and heard.

Every young person deserves:
🛏️ A safe place to rest.
💬 A voice that's heard.
🌱 A future they get to choose.

We can't undo the pain they've experienced. But we can show up, again and again, with care, support and the space to heal.

Everybody deserves a safe and secure place to call home.

Not a random list.

A snapshot of the hidden places where women sleeping rough are forced to stay.

To avoid violence, abuse and exploitation, these women stay out of sight. But being hidden often means being overlooked by the services designed to help them.

Alongside Solace Women's Aid, our women’s rough sleeping helps reveal the true scale of women’s homelessness, so more women can get the support they need and move away from the streets for good.

We'll be covering the latest findings from the 2025 census later this week...

A fresh haircut can do more than change how you look. It can change how you feel.

That's why we were delighted to welcome Blue Tit back to one of our women's services last month.

Their team of stylists took the time to provide haircuts and a day of self-care for the women we support, helping them feel seen, valued and cared for.

It was wonderful to see so many women walk away smiling, feeling more confident, looking their best and ready to take on the day.

Thank you, Blue Tit, for helping make such a positive difference.

We're proud to be leading Camden’s rough sleeping outreach service as part of a new six-year partnership with the London Borough of Camden.

By bringing housing, mental health, and drug & alcohol specialists together in one place, we're making it easier for people sleeping rough to get the support they need.

Most importantly, we're committed to helping people access support earlier, working with key partners and reducing the devastating impact of long periods spent sleeping on the streets and helping more Londoners leave the streets behind for good.

The words we use shape how we understand abuse.

When people hear domestic violence, they often think only of physical harm. But many survivors experience a wider pattern of abuse.

That's why we often use domestic abuse as an umbrella term. It includes:

💬 Coercive control
🧠 Psychological and emotional harm
💷 Financial control
🚫 Isolation and intimidation
⚠️ Physical violence too

Domestic violence is part of domestic abuse, but abuse is not always physical.

Words carry power. Let's use them to recognise abuse properly and connect survivors with the support they need.

💬 "You learn where you can sleep. You learn where you can go. People show you the places. A doorway, a bin shed, somewhere hidden."

For years, this was Natalie's reality. Experiencing homelessness and addiction, she spent her days hustling to survive and searching for somewhere safe to sleep.

Today, she sees that the same determination that helped her survive is helping her build a better future.

💬 "My support worker actually sat down and listened. She heard me, and she felt me. There have been slips with my recovery. But the difference now is that I deal with it. I don’t disappear.”

With the right support, Natalie began rebuilding her confidence, reconnecting with family, and creating a life she once thought was out of reach. 💜

Now, she has a home she proudly calls her "little palace" and is looking for ways to help others. ✨

💬 "I want to give back. Helping people makes me feel good."

We’re so proud of you, Natalie!