The temperature is dropping rapidly and we’re desperately worried for the safety of the women we support

It comes around at this time every year – the fear we’re going to lose someone we care about to the freezing weather.

Women we support, particularly those are sleeping outdoors or who are drifting from address to address, are vulnerable when the temperature drops.

Frankly, it is terrifying.

Even those who have who have places of their own are at risk because they can’t afford to heat them adequately.

We do our best to build up our stocks of warm clothing, blankets, sleeping bags and hot water bottles in the run-up to the colder months.

However, we could always do with more, so we’d be very grateful for donations of suitable garments. We will pass them to the women who visit our base in London Road.

Our director Della Kagure Brown said: “Every year we lose women to the cold weather, including related conditions such as pneumonia, which is frequently made much worse by rough-sleeping.

“Nobody should be at risk because of the weather, or hunger for that matter. Please get in touch if there is anything you could donate to help us ensure the women we see stay warm this winter.

Elsewhere, Leicester City Council’s homelessness outreach team patrols the streets every day on the look-out for those who are sleeping rough. 

Members of the public can notify the team of someone they believe to be vulnerable by using the Streetlink service, which can be found here 

A range of organisations from across the city joined together in 2018 to create the Leicester Homelessness Charter to co-ordinate the effort to tackle homelessness in the city. 

Further information about Leicester Homelessness Charter, including a list of services and places which can feed people in need, can be found here

The New Futures Project offers a comprehensive welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.

Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk

You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.

We publish a monthly newsletter to tell the stories of the women we support and to round up all the things we’ve been doing. 

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