'Women into Work' is an employment, training and education programme to engage and support 110 previously homeless women living in London. Participants on the programme are seeking to secure employment, some for the very first time. The programme aims to train, support and guide them on their journey into the work-force.
The vast majority of homeless people want to work, but many of the homeless women supported by the project face a number of barriers. Apart from finding somewhere to stay, and dealing with any physical or mental health or substance use issues, low confidence and poor self-esteem can be a major hurdle for many to overcome, as can language barriers, having the right skills, experience and qualifications (particularly IT skills), lacking clothes to attend interviews and travel to get to interviews.
The programme removes these barriers by providing the practical support and encouragement needed so that the women can make their first steps back towards employment and independent living. The support available includes: one-to-one mentoring; help with writing a CV; finding an appropriate volunteer placement, educational or training course; help with on-line job searches, writing covering letters; in-house IT, Literacy and ESOL (English) courses; catering training; clothes for interview.
Work is one of the key routes out of homelessness, providing not only much needed income but also a form of social support as well as confidence and empowerment. Securing a job can have a transformative effect on the woman's life, and allow her to leave homelessness behind for good. 110 women benefit each year from the programme. In 2014, the project provided 200 1-1 mentoring appointments, helped women to complete 55 CVs & helped them to apply for 142 jobs, training and volunteer placements.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
