Somerset councillor calls for female-only homeless housing

Chancellor of the exchequer John Healey MP announced in his budget speech on October 28 that an additional £432m would be made available to councils to tackle rough sleeping – bringing the total being provided to £874m.

Councillor Lucy Trimnell, shadow portfolio holder for adults' services, housing and homelessness, called on Somerset Council to use its share of this funding to ensure homeless women had access to safe, single-sex accommodation and appropriate support.

The council said that it was already working on securing more female-only accommodation for rough sleepers and welcomed the government's approach as "fantastic".

Ms Trimnell (one of two Conservative councillors for the Wincanton and Bruton division) made her request when the council's executive committee met in Taunton on Wednesday morning (November 4).

She said: "As the council begins to formulate a plan to ensure that every rough sleeper has a route off the street by Christmas, I want to ask whether there's a plan to ensure provision of female-only accommodation.

"I'd also like to extend this question to all emergency accommodation that we offer to benefit women - particularly those with multiple and complex needs in our county, as there is currently no such provision available.

"Women become homeless or need emergency accommodation for a range of complex issues, including domestic abuse, exploitation, mental ill health, addiction and learning difficulties - but they struggle often in mixed-sex accommodation because it is not designed to meet the particular needs of women.

"As a result of being in mixed-sex spaces, many women are therefore unable to cope, feeling fear or anxiety which leaves them feeling vulnerable and unsafe.

"Women are frequently discharged from accommodation settings, increasing the chances of them returning to the environment for which they were trying to escape, giving them this enormous risk.

Additional funding will be provided to tackle rough sleeping in Somerset this winter (Image: Supplied)

"Homelessness in women often stems from trauma, domestic abuse, addiction and other such situations - and if we do not address the need to provide safe female accommodation where they can access the specialist support that they need, we will have failed to safeguard and protect them.

"With the council ensure provision for adequate female-only accommodation to ensure that women can be given the best chance for a path towards independence and sustainable, supportive and safe future?"

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adults' services, housing and homelessness, responded: "We do recognise that there is currently a lack of female-only provision in Somerset - and as a part of our commitment this year, we took part in the annual count of female rough sleeping. We haven't done that before.

"We are currently already working with specialist providers to secure female-only accommodation; this is work to which we had already committed, and had already recognised was needed before the recent rough sleeper funding was announced.

"I just want to make it clear that, although we're doing extra things now that the government has announced that they want to end rough sleeping (which is fantastic - it's given us a step up), we were already working with our committee that looks at rough sleeping, and four groups within that committee on providing extra accommodation.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adult's services, housing and homelessness (Image: Somerset Council)

"We are also looking at how existing services can be adapted to improve access for women - for example, female-only days or times for some of our services.

"We do recognise it as an issue, and we have already secured some female-only accommodation in parts of the county - but this is something that is an ongoing process as we address rough sleeping with the money that the government has given us."

Council leader Bill Revans added: "I recently had the privilege of listening to some of our stars, our volunteers and some of our rough sleepers in Bridgwater about their experiences.

"I just want to pay absolute tribute to the team that work with our rough sleepers. I was really inspired by what I saw and by their commitment to making sure that service is of the highest quality.

"I look forward to us being able to use the resources available from central government to be able to meet the aspirations that have been outlined by the prime minister."