For International Women's Day tomorrow, we wanted to highlight women who experience homelessness. The average age of death for women sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation is four years lower than a man at just 41 years old.  Women are at much greater risk of physical and sexual violence, and more likely to be struggling with complex trauma, mental health issues, physical health, domestic abuse and/or substance misuse and some are permanently separated from their children. These traumatic experiences make it harder for some women to trust support services and harder to reach to offer support. There also just isn’t enough specialist accommodation for women in England.

Someone who has experienced and witnessed all of the above is Kerri Douglas. In this episode, she shares her heartbreaking and remarkable story. After spending years on the streets battling severe substance and physical abuse as well as losing custody of her first child, she has become a force for change helping to inspire and educate others. She is now a mother to two more children (twins) and a certified substance abuse counsellor, studying for a psychology degree. The big turning point for Kerri was when she met some brilliant outreach staff from a charity dedicated to helping people who experience homelessness, called St Mungo's. The fact that Kerri is alive and thriving today is testament to her herculean strength and determination. 

Content warning: references to drug abuse, suicide, sexual abuse, miscarriage and violence. 

You can buy Kerri’s book Gutter To Glory: From Pavements to Parliament and listen to her podcast Conversations with Kerri here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blessed-Assurance-Gutter-Kerri-Douglas-ebook/dp/B07P58CX7X

https://anchor.fm/conversationswithkerri/episodes/A-Driving-Force-For-Change-e1e8gbh

https://dropthelabel.co.uk/the-blog/

You can also contact St Mungo’s or donate to the charity here:  www.mungos.org/annie

Should you be affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, in the UK, The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. Hotlines in other countries can be found http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

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