SIG Celebrates 10 Years
A Decade of Impact and Growth at Social Interest Group
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Social Interest Group is proud to announce the imminent launch of an innovative service that promises to empower change and transform the lives of women facing the difficult realities of homelessness, sexual exploitation and substance dependency – a true sanctuary they can genuinely call home.
Many of these resilient women are forced into survival sex or sex work, enduring high levels of violence and coercion and frequently navigating accommodation systems with limited options left.
This transformative programme is designed to provide safety, stability, and support tailored specifically for women facing the multifaceted challenges of trauma, abuse, and systemic exclusion and inequality. Rooted in insights from the SHAP Gap Analysis, we’ve built this service on a solid foundation of deep understanding and genuine compassion.
Our mission is to empower them by addressing their diverse and complex needs through compassionate support, tailored care, and resources so they can reclaim their lives, restore their dignity, and cultivate a hopeful and promising future.
We understand the impact of historical trauma, the repercussions of encounters with criminal justice services, and the struggles related to mental health and substance use that they face. We are committed to breaking the cycle of adversity within available accommodation pathways, paving the way toward lasting stability.
We invite you to stay connected with us for updates as we prepare to unveil this inspiring initiative.
At the heart of this initiative is our mission to create self-contained flats and a crisis sit-up space. We’ve thoughtfully designed each home to offer a safe, private space, creating a sense of safety and dignity. These flats are sanctuaries where residents can initiate their journeys toward recovery and empowerment, free from the challenges often associated with shared living environments.
Our successful model, already proven effective in mixed-unit contexts, prioritises privacy and autonomy while ensuring residents can access high-quality, personalised support tailored to their unique needs. This support is vital for sustained well-being and progress.
This initiative aims to support women who find themselves trapped in cycles of sexual exploitation and homelessness, often stemming from complex and traumatic circumstances such as historical abuse, mental health, drug and alcohol dependency and histories with the criminal justice system.
Centred on a strengths-based, person-centred approach, the service offers each woman 10 dedicated hours of personalised support each week from a multidisciplinary team of professionals. We prioritise onsite support, emphasising accessibility and comfort while designing our service to embrace flexibility and a deep commitment to trauma-informed care.
Key services include:
We prioritise onsite support, emphasising accessibility and comfort while designing our service to ensure flexibility, understanding, and an unwavering commitment to trauma-informed care.
This initiative is founded on empathy and a deep understanding of these women’s societal and systemic challenges. By acknowledging unconscious biases and gender stereotypes, we aim to dismantle barriers to progress and healing. We recognise each woman’s individuality by ensuring the service is not confined to a rigid model; instead, we meet women where they are, offering adaptable support that respects their unique journeys.
Our partnerships with Adult Social Care strengthen our ability to provide additional support with capacity assessments, safeguarding, neurodiversity, and care needs. Each resident will collaboratively develop a bespoke support plan addressing their individual needs and aspirations, encompassing vital areas:
Our staffing strategy is to have specialist female professionals around the clock every day of the year, proactively responding to residents’ needs. We recognise that many women may feel more comfortable engaging during nighttime hours, especially in the early stages of their stay. We are committed to comprehensive training, ensuring all team members deliver trauma-informed care, effectively address sexual trauma, and manage unconscious bias, among other essential skills.
Our innovative service is part of the Rough Sleeping Complex Needs My Place Pathway, offering a vital bridge to independent, self-contained accommodation. Women can reside within the programme for 12–36 months, with opportunities for earlier move-on when ready. Moreover, our crisis sit-up space serves as a critical safety net for women in immediate need, implemented as our service becomes fully operational, adapting to daily dynamics.
Our programme welcomes women who have faced sexual exploitation and are confronting homelessness due to intersecting challenges such as substance dependency, mental health struggles, and involvement in survival sex or sex work. We prioritise those who have exhausted traditional accommodation pathways options and require a specialised approach to support and housing.
This new initiative embodies Social Interest Group’s dedication to empowering women, building resilience, and creating transformative pathways toward a brighter future. Together, we are establishing a model of care that acknowledges the complexities of trauma while prioritising dignity, safety, and self-determination. Initiative.
Please get in touch if you want to talk about commissioning a similar service in your area: development@socialinterestgroup.org.uk
Celebrating a Decade of Collaboration and Innovation
