Fundraiser meets London women’s charity on 7th stop of 10-night UK sleepout challenge
A passion for supporting vulnerable women is the driving force behind an intrepid fundraiser who arrives in London Marylebone on the latest leg of her mammoth ten-night Sleepout across the UK.
The stopover, on Friday (February 7th), marks the sixth consecutive sleepout for Lianne Kirkman, in her gruelling Her Fight, Our Night Challenge, in support of her charity The Esther Project and brings her into contact with local charity The Marylebone Project.
Her journey, which began in her home town of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire on February 1st, is also taking her to Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth, Doncaster, Hull and, finally Blackpool, where, en route, she will meet local organisations supporting women and raising awareness of the complex issues and best practice solutions and highlighting the gaps in service provision.
The 50-year-old mum of two said:
“I want to highlight the need for more women’s centres and some of the great work and some good practice around the UK and we want to work with the other charities to highlight the issue around the Government’s role in funding women’s services. Every experience is going to be different but I know that we’re going to be met with the same issues around funding, around women not being safe, the effects of trauma and the cycle of abuse, the poverty cycle and women in and out of the criminal justice system.”
Established In 1932, The Marylebone Project provides a life-changing service for women to
to overcome homelessness in the heart of London. It Is the largest and longest-running centre of its kind in the UK – with over 90 years of experience, 112 residential beds across two buildings, and the only women’s-only homelessness drop-in centre that’s open 24/7, 365 days a year.
The charity offers over 50 different activities, with 5,000 sessions attended each year; each woman has her own private bedroom and access to shared facilities for up to two years and over 50 women each year are resettled into independent housing.
Within the project’s safe environment women rebuild trust, learn to re-engage with society and start to rebuild their lives with the support of our all-encompassing service provision.
Farn Bain Smith, of The Marylebone Project, said:
“Our clients face a variety of challenges including Domestic abuse, Human trafficking, alcohol and drug misuse, unemployment, loneliness, disability and mental health, but whatever their story, we aim to empower them to overcome homelessness and live independent, full lives.”
