Housing-related stress and insecurity is a key source of vulnerability for women working with Pause. This includes poor housing quality, overcrowding, rent-related stress, rogue landlords and homelessness. Our quarterly reporting shows us that a number of the women Pause supports have been subject to Bedroom Tax and/or developed rent arrears after being involved in care proceedings. This adds another layer of stress to the trauma women are already facing, after recently having had a child removed from their care.
Safe, secure, and affordable home is so important, as it gives someone a stable foundation upon which to begin addressing other issues they face. That’s why we decided to focus our new season of In a Mother’s Mind on the housing needs and experiences of women who’ve had children taken into their care. In the first episode, we are joined by Polly Neate, CEO of Shelter. We discuss some of the practical and financial challenges this group of women face, and what can be done to better support them. We are also joined by Angela Frazer-Wicks, who is the Chair of Trustees for Family Rights Group, to hear about her own personal difficulties with housing before, during and after having her two children removed from her care.
Both Polly’s policy perspective and Angela’s personal experience illustrate just how complex and easily damaging the whole housing system is. However, they also both reiterate the importance of seeking support. Here are some charities and websites that offer advice and support services:
If you are going through – or have gone through – care proceedings and have been hit by the bedroom tax, you may be eligible for financial support through a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP). Find out more about this and how to apply on the government website.
Shelter is a national housing and homelessness charity. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people experiencing housing difficulties – get help from Shelter here. In her interview, Polly mentions that St Mungo’s and Homeless Link have been doing important work around understanding women’s experiences and making homelessness services more trauma-informed.
Family Rights Group works to create a more socially just society, in which the child welfare and family justice systems support children to live safely and thrive within their family. It gives advice to parents, grandparents, relatives and friends about their rights and options when social workers or courts make decisions about their children’s welfare.
Women’s Aid offers advice and support services to women experiencing domestic abuse. They have a live chat function and you can use their directory to find a refuge near you. Women’s Aid also gives advice to children or younger people affected by domestic abuse, through their Love Respect website.
You may prefer to stay in a specialist refuge if you are a Black or Brown person or from a minoritised community. Find out more about some specialist refuges and support services run by:
Refuge – culturally-specific services for Asian, Black and Eastern European women
Ikrow – for Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan women
Anah Project – for Black, Asian, ethnic minority and refugee women
Latin American Women’s Aid – for Latin American women
