Spare room - looking for a domestic abuse refuge type scheme

[NairobiisinKenya]

Hi

I wonder if anyone could point me in the right direction?

I have a spare room and basically I want to do something worthwhile with it.

I am often away for work and travelling - I've looked into supported lodgings for care leavers but I wouldn't be around to provide enough support.

IDAS, a charity in Yorkshire has a scheme where you can offer a spare room to a woman fleeing domestic abuse. I am in London and can't find anything similar, but would like to find a scheme like this I can sign up to. I would definitely want a charity to be involved so that there was some professional support available, although I see so many women on here needing accomodation, I wouldn't be comfortable doing it completely without professional support.

Can anyone make any suggestions?

Thanks

There's a charity called NightStop - it might not be exactly what you are after but it might lead you to what you are looking for

They support young people 16-25 who are in awful situations with their housing and just need a safe place to stay for a short time period etc

Thanks!! Will look at that :)

Your local council might have contact information for local DV charities.
Or contact Women’s Aid who’d have knowledge of local organisations.

Shared Lives Plus had/have something like this, although not sure if it was just a pilot project. Try looking it up on a web search.

Would you consider hosting a woman leaving Ukraine?

How abouy https://www.roomforrefugees.com/? Not DV exactly but very worthwhile and you can specify only women guests I believe

@NairobiisinKenya there are lots of mature women needing rooms though for all kinds of reasons who really really don't need externalsupport- they just need somewhere to call home.

Would you be ok with any chaos or trauma you may get sucked into? Address compromised and violent ex stalking the property, sad atmosphere, crying and weeping at night, moodiness and irritability? They will also have all the irritating habbits of a lodger, they might not express gratitude or struggle to remember house rules. Some women you host will be from a different culture (eg dislike alcohol in the house) or not speak much English. There might be issues around boundaries, you ending up as a therapist leading to awkward dynamics.
Also, it's possible to be a victim of DV and also difficult to get on with or unscrupulous.
I think it'a a noble thought but I urge you to think about the potential problems if you haven't. Good luck.