North East census to uncover hidden women's homelessness

The North East’s largest Women’s Rough Sleeping Census is currently taking place across seven local authority areas—Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland.

Running from September 21 to 27, the project aims to give a clearer picture of women’s homelessness in the region and inform future support services.

Crystal Hicks, chair of the Women’s Homelessness Alliance and director of Crisis Skylight Newcastle, said: "If we are serious about ending rough sleeping, we need to deliver an equitable rough sleeping response.

"This means explicitly recognising the undercounting of women who have nowhere safe to sleep across our region."

The census takes a gender-informed approach to homelessness outreach, focusing on the unique and often hidden ways women experience homelessness.

This can include staying in A&E departments, on buses, or in unsafe environments where they remain out of sight.

Each woman identified during the census will be offered emergency accommodation and a homelessness assessment the following day.

The project is coordinated in the North East by the Women’s Homelessness Alliance and is part of an England-wide initiative led by the Single Homeless Project and Solace.

It aims to gather data that will improve policies, services, and investment for women experiencing homelessness.