‘Who knows what it will bring?’: A day in the life of our drop-in service for some of the most vulnerable women we see

We are very proud of our drop-in service – it’s the embodiment of everything The New Futures Project stands for.

More than 500 women come here each year because it offers them a temporary break from the harshness of the world outside.

It’s a place for them to get a shower, do their laundry and pick up some new clothes and toiletries.

Some of our homeless clients tend to catch up on their sleep here because it’s a safe alternative to rough-sleeping.

Furthermore, they can get a freshly cooked hot meal before leaving with other essentials such as a food parcel, condoms and injecting equipment.

Crucially, the time they spend here allows us to get to know each individual and establish what we need to do to help them now and in the longer-term.

Recently, Lisa Swann-Davie, who manages the service, agreed to keep a diary of what turned out to be another typically busy day.

Lisa, (pictured to the right of Avril Lewis, who runs our outreach service) writes:

9am: First client at the door wanting food and a cup of tea. Even though we aren’t open, we don’t turn away; she may not have eaten all weekend.

9.30am: Email updates from multiple professionals, including social care and police with information on some of our clients.

One is wanted on a warrant for missing a court date, another has lost her temporary accommodation at the Dawn Centre, one has missed appointments at the Job Centre, and another with her GP for a sick note.

10am: Staff meeting to discuss current cases and any safeguarding updates. Safeguarding identified for one of the women who has recently given birth, as we been unable to contact her. Phone call to duty social care to establish their wellbeing followed.

11.15am: A young person has been to her brother’s funeral and come to the project for emotional support.

12pm: Drop-in officially opens, and the first two women in have come to use the shower facilities as they are both currently homeless.

They use the washing machine, have some food and a chat with staff.

12.30pm: The client wanted on a warrant, entered drop-in for food.

She was informed of the information we had, and we advised her that she needed to surrender at court or to her solicitor to avoid being arrested when collecting her script.

She was not happy with this as she said she was not aware of the date.

This can be likely with our client group as they are not able to keep track of appointments, dates and times due to the stress of their lifestyle.

1pm: Supported a long-term client to call the water company and adult social care as she has very limited English.

Successfully set up monthly payments on her water bill, and a Care Act assessment.

1.30pm: Drop-in getting busier, there were five women in and it was very warm outside, so we prepared a big salad with ham, chicken, eggs and got plenty of cold drinks together for them.

2pm: Two of our regular clients had an altercation that needed to be defused by staff. Both were warned they would be asked to leave if it continued.

2.45pm: A food voucher for the Trussell Trust was supplied to a young person living in supported accommodation.

3pm: A counselling client arrived and had brought 40 ice poles to put in the freezer for everyone! Amazing on such a hot day! Such a lovely gesture.

3.15pm: Had a catch up with a client who has been in service for about a year, we talked about how she has been finding her mental health recently and the improvements she has made in the last year to her self-confidence.

She had previously built-up debt during a period of poor mental health, with pressure from others, and she has since organised this debt with support from us.

Today she had seen her perpetrators in the city centre, and they apologised.

She was happy with this and felt empowered to say no to others in the future.

4pm: The woman from the earlier safeguarding concern arrived at drop-in. We discussed her baby, who is currently in local authority care.

I arranged to support her with upcoming court appearances and meetings with social care.

We provided items to meet her basic needs, including food, clothes and toiletries.

Her relationship is very volatile, so we talked about how things are with that now.

She advised me she was ok and promised to keep in regular contact.

5.20pm: A woman came to drop-in to collect condoms as she will be street-based working tonight.

5.30pm: I spent time completing paperwork for all the women I have seen today, ensuring that their notes are accurately logged on the system.

This is always important as it helps us identify missing people, particularly where we may be the only organisation seeing some of these women.

5.45pm: Clean up and clear down of the drop- in area, ready for another day tomorrow.

Who knows what it will bring!

The New Futures Project was set up more than 20 years ago to support women involved in sex work.

However, we have evolved into 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.

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