The Women in Safe Homes fund’s eighth housing partner is Edinburgh based charity, Cyrenians – the fund’s first partner in Scotland - that aims to tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness. The fund is purchasing a mix of family and one-bedroom homes for the charity so that it can provide desperately needed safe and affordable homes for women experiencing domestic abuse and homelessness, specifically in Edinburgh where a shortage of housing is most acutely felt.
 

We recently caught up with Amy Hutton, Director of Services at Cyrenians, to find out more about Cyrenians, why they partnered with the fund and what Amy's hopes are for the women and children that will be provided with a safe place to call home.

Q: Hi Amy, can you tell us about your background and journey in the homelessness sector?

A: I came to work at Cyrenians as the manager of a small drug and alcohol support service.  I had previously been working with people who were rough sleeping and was particularly struck by the complex relationship between homelessness and addiction.  I had become very aware of addiction as neither a cause or consequence of homelessness but an attempt to cope with trauma and the challenges of living vulnerably or on the streets. My role in Cyrenians has changed over the years, the organisation has grown too. I’m proud to work in an organisation which has remained true to its values at the same time as seeking contemporary solutions to emerging needs. The partnership on the Women in Safe Homes fund is a very good example of that.

Q: Why did Cyrenians want to partner with the Women in Safe Homes fund?

A:  For several years we have been working together to find a way of using social investment to create homes for people experiencing homelessness. The ambition has always been there and although the pandemic and its impact certainly slowed our progress, I’m delighted that together we kept pushing on this to find a way that we could provide innovative housing solutions to some of the most vulnerable people living in the city.

We are partnering with the Women in Safe Homes fund on the same basis as our Housing First work, an approach which gives people the space to heal, rebuild and access lasting support with safe, stable housing.

The fund, and others like it, make it possible for charities like Cyrenians to provide housing on a scale which simply wouldn’t happen otherwise. In a city like Edinburgh, it’s an ideal solution as it taps into existing property which people who are homeless often can’t access and repositions it for the people we work with. 

Q: How many homes and what types of properties is the fund buying for Cyrenians?

A: The fund is aiming to buy and refurbish thirty properties in Edinburgh to Cyrenians’ property specifications. These properties will be a mix of family homes and one-beds.

Properties will be safe and discreet, on ordinary streets in local communities, connected to local services. Essentially, the fund is enabling women to live in homes that wouldn’t normally be available and affordable for them.

Q: What are you looking for in the properties and locations within which the fund is purchasing?

A: That they are safe homes in neighbourhoods and well connected to local services and amenities where the women, and in some cases also their children, will be able to rebuild their lives on their own terms. It’s important that the properties are in a very good decorative order and furnished in a way that gives them all the foundations of a happy home.

Q: What is the housing/homelessness situation in Edinburgh?

A: Homelessness in Scotland has gone up by 10% in the past year. Over 15,000 households now live in temporary accommodation and thousands more are sleeping rough. And the problem is most pronounced right here in the capital. There are 3,560 households in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh right now, and last year 754 more people entered temporary accommodation in Edinburgh than left it.

Q: Who are the women most likely to be housed by the fund?

A: Most of the women that will be housed by the fund will likely have experienced domestic abuse and be referred to us via local domestic abuse organisations in and around Edinburgh. We expect to support around two hundred women and their children experiencing homelessness over the fund’s lifetime.

Q: What sort of support services do you provide for women?

A: We will be able to create wrapround support for the women and children living in these homes, from our services but also working in partnership with charities across the sector in Scotland. So that means supporting access to food, mental health services, connections in the community and opportunities for work and professional development.  We are enormously fortunate in the quality of care and the level of commitment in our third sector, despite the challenges imposed by the cost-of-living crisis.

Q: How supportive is the local authority of Cyrenians’ partnership with the fund?

A: The local authority is really supportive of this partnership and keen to see the positive impact it will have on women in the city. Additionally, the local authority is providing funding for the specialist support services women will receive while living in these homes.

Q: What difference does having a decent and safe home mean for someone who has been experiencing domestic abuse and/or homelessness?

A: Women experiencing domestic abuse and not having a safe place to live can often find themselves faced with either staying with their perpetrator or having to move into temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs and Housing of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) – often mixed accommodation. For women who have experienced domestic abuse or not been exposed to that kind of accommodation, this can be highly inappropriate and retraumatising.

The Women in Safes Homes fund is providing an alternative; good quality, safe homes. And key is the fact that the fund is providing homes for women with children.

Q: What has your experience of working with Resonance been like so far?

A: It’s been fantastic, a very positive process for us. I’ve been impressed at the pace of acquisition and the due diligence was reassuring. I am grateful also to our board of supportive and thorough trustees. This process has taken us out of our comfort zone, requiring us to build new expertise within a property management team.

Thank you, Amy!

The Women in Safes Homes fund is a joint venture between Resonance and Patron Capital. We recently published the latest Women in Safe Homes fund’s social impact report for 2022/23 – read it here – and see the positive impact the fund is already having on the women and their children that it is housing, including:

• 120 women and children housed
• 43 homes handed over to housing partners
• 9 housing partners
• £29m raised
• 20 impact investors
• 91.5% of women reported positive impact on their wellbeing and life outcomes
• 87% of women agreed or strongly agreed that they felt safe in their home
• 83% of women reported improved mental health since living in their home

DOWNLOAD THE WOMEN IN SAFE HOMES SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT 2022/23