Christian charity urges churches to achieve out to homeless women

A Christian homelessness charity has warned that 1000’s of girls experiencing homelessness are being ignored in official government figures.

Sarah Gorman, the brand new CEO of Oasis Community Housing in Gateshead, said that many ladies select to not sleep rough “because they’re frightened for their very own safety”. Instead, she said, they often spend their nights “riding around on a bus or waiting in a hospital”.

Her comments follow recent research from Crisis suggesting that homelessness in England is way higher than government data indicates. She believes the true number of individuals and not using a stable home could have risen by about 150 per cent since 2020.

According to Gorman, official figures mainly reflect those that have registered as homeless with local authorities, leaving many others uncounted.

“I believe the figures that we see are based on those individuals who have registered as homeless with the local authority, so we aren’t picking up necessarily people who find themselves sleeping rough in hidden places, in tents, or what we’d describe as sofa browsing or living in really unsuitable accommodation,” she said.

Women are particularly affected by this “hidden homelessness”, actually because they’re escaping some type of violence.

One of the first causes of homelessness amongst women is domestic abuse. 

Leaving an abusive partner takes immense courage – on average, a lady will experience slightly below six years of abuse before accessing domestic abuse support services. 

Typically, women searching for refuge are more likely to have a minimum of one child with them or be pregnant. Over a 3rd may even be in need of specialist mental health support, and plenty of face overwhelming financial difficulties which refuge services are increasingly unable to fulfill.

For many, the fear of violence and the shortage of secure alternatives force women into precarious living situations quite than sleeping rough.

Gorman said Oasis Community Housing’s Christian ethos shapes the way it responds to such complex needs.

“Jesus reaches out to us, he’s not waiting for us to come back to him,” she said. “In the identical way, our outreach teams exit to construct trust and relationships.”

The charity’s Housing First project provides long-term, flexible support designed to assist people break the cycles of homelessness and rebuild their lives.

Gorman also encouraged churches across the UK to play their part in tackling homelessness.

“Reach out to your local charities, pray in your community, and support the work being done,” she urged.

She added that lasting change would require stronger government motion. Gorman called on policymakers to extend the provision of social housing, raise housing profit rates, and shut the gaps within the system that leave people falling through.

The government has pledged £39 billion over the subsequent 10 years for its Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which goals to deliver around 300,000 homes across England, with a minimum of 60 per cent being social housing.

For the Oasis Community Housing CEO, and for Christians all over the place, addressing homelessness is about greater than housing – it’s about compassion, dignity, and faith in motion. Swift motion is required here.