ALABARÉ Saddened by New Figures from Census of Women Sleeping Rough
A new report into the number of women sleeping rough is shocking but also reflects the reality of the situation within ALABARÉ's services.
ALABARÉ says a new report into the number of women sleeping rough is shocking but also reflects the reality of the situation within its services.
A census of the number of women sleeping rough has been conducted by Solace Women’s Aid and the Single Homeless Project, working alongside a third of local authorities, found a total of 1,406 women had slept rough over the past three months.
That figure is almost double the number recorded in the official Government rough sleeping snapshot for Autumn 2025, which included 733 women sleeping rough on any given night.
It further raises the issue of hidden homelessness, where people affected are bedding down in inappropriate places such as their cars or sheds, or hiding in plain sight by using public transport, train stations and even offices and gyms as shelter, or to use facilities.
Within ALABARÉ services across the South West and Wales, 1,628 women have been supported over the last year, which equates to 50% of all the charity’s clients.
42-year-old Ange (pictured right) has been a resident at ALABARÉ Place in Salisbury for the last two years and has described the fear and uncertainty of being on the streets as a female:
“You’re keeping one eye open, so not really sleeping properly, just cat napping, which also encouraged me to drink a lot at the time, and then I would end up drinking just to go to sleep.”
She says that on three occasions while living in a tent, she’d go out to get food and supplies and returned to find her belongings had been set on fire.
Ange has also recalled incidents where men, often under the influence of alcohol, would become aggressive towards her, and has been helped by passers-by to chase people away for her own safety.
ALABARÉ’s drop-in centres in Salisbury and Chippenham can help anyone at risk of homelessness, including women sleeping rough, to access hot meals, showers, laundry facilities, and emergency bedspaces, so they have somewhere safe and secure to stay.
From there, working with the local authority, we can find more permanent solutions and support people to break the cycle of homelessness.
Naomi Webb, Director of Operations at ALABARÉ, said:
“These new figures showing the number of women sleeping rough are disturbing, but actually more closely reflect the true reality of the situation we’re seeing throughout the support offered by ALABARÉ.
“We know that homelessness can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, or economic background, and we’re here to support those who need it. We’re also conscious of the Government’s target to halve homelessness by the end of this Parliament, so we believe it’s vitally important that the scale of the issue is made clear, to ensure the right efforts are made to help more people out of a critical situation.”
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