Marylebone Project

🎄 Merry Christmas, Happy Festivities, and a Happy 2025! 🎉 In some of the many languages spoken at the Marylebone Project: English, French, Gujarati, Wolof, and Amharic. 💜 We’re open every day of the year, including Christmas Day and New Year's Day, making sure women fleeing crisis in London have somewhere safe to go. Please consider donating to help us stay open 24/7, 365 days a year. If you or someone you know needs support, visit Street Link. #maryleboneproject #SeasonOfGiving #LondonAtChristmas #LondonCares #HomelessNotHopeless

✨ Festive Updates ✨ Whilst many of us are wrapping up work and heading home for Christmas, we’re preparing to remain open 24/7 to support women facing homelessness this winter. This time of year can be particularly difficult for many of our women, who may be separated from their families and surrounded by consumerist pressures they are often unable to engage with. To help ease the loneliness and create a sense of connection, our wonderful centre team (Sarah Hancock Ruth Foulds Carla BRETECHER Miriam Kennedy Semhar Rota) have organised a full schedule of activities to come together and celebrate: 🎄 Christmas Eve Quiz 🍽️ Christmas Day Meal with singing and films 🎁 Boxing Day Pampering Session and Bingo 🎤 New Year’s Eve Karaoke ☕ New Year’s Day Hot Chocolate and Intention-Setting Here's a few photos from our festive activities so far - shoutout to Eljesa Saciri for providing our support staff a special afternoon tea at The Zetter Townhouse as a thank you for their hard work cleaning the rooms of women who are trying to overcome hoarding disorders. One of our support team said, "I won’t forget it - it was wonderful. Spending time together outside of work in such a warm environment showed me that what we do is truly appreciated. They made an indelible mark." A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has donated gifts, clothes, and other essentials, and to those who have supported us in celebrating and uplifting our women this winter. Your generosity has helped us make the festive season extra special this year! Forsters LLP Ellie T. The Howard de Walden Estate Ashley Nixon Baker Street Quarter Partnership Hannah Kogan Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill Gabrielle Desroches Hutchison o3e Freemantle Media Next Joanne Lee Vodafone Knight Frank Joy B. Morrison Foerster Taggstar Marjorie Leonidas Alison Wiltshire Sotheby's Farhanah Bello (nèe Mamoojee) nope. haircare Rosie Myers The Peninsula Hotels Antje Balow Yield Gallery Bobby Izzard Happiness Parcels.com Allsop LLP Julia Rausing Trust Selborne Chambers #CommunitySupport #HomelessnessAwareness #HoardingAwareness #FestiveSeason #Gratitude

Sending out the first edition of our newsletter with Judith Risse and Fern Bain Smith. ✉️🙌 I had a lot of fun writing this and hope it will inspire people to support the incredible work of the Marylebone Project: empowering women to end their homelessness and live their lives to the full. 💜

Thank you very much to the lovely Happiness Parcels.com team for their gorgeous Christmas gifts, and to poet Donna Ashworth for writing a poem about the stength of women, especially for the ladies here at the project. Who wouldn't want to receive some beautifully wrapped gifts, along with a poem (written by a Sunday Times bestselling author!), just for you? But for our clients this Christmas, with many living away from their children, friends and family, often due to the shame and stigma associated with homelessness - this gift truly is a shining light letting them know someone is thinking of them. If you would like to support the Marylebone Project this winter and beyond whether through gifts or donations, please don't hesitate to reach out to Evie O. or Fern Bain Smith

Women's homelessness is finally front page news. However we've seen how women often hide their homelessness first hand for years - this article about the Marylebone Project from December 2004, 'Where the hidden homeless go', identifies how interlinked abuse and homelessness are for women. https://lnkd.in/ei5s65BD We readily welcome the women's rough sleeping census, and this article highlighting it, delivered by Single Homeless Project and Solace Women's Aid. They are finally putting research behind what we've known for years - that women are so often excluded from discussions, and consequently from services, that support with homelessness. We are eager to make sure that this new research and media attention will lead to the change we so desperately need in 2025 - together, we can make a difference to the lives of women facing homelessness.

Message of thanks from our Executive Manager Amy Hull. On behalf of the whole project she shares her appreciation to every one of you who donated, or supported our Big Give Christmas Challenge by engaging with our posts, or sharing with your networks. Your support is helping us provide warm, safe spaces to women this winter - our goal was to raise enough to open the Sanctuary for the 12 days of Christmas - but we raised an extra 5 days, taking us right up to the 11th January. That's a total of 18 days of warmth, safety and care for women who really need it 🌟 Special thanks to our incredible match funders Forsters LLP and Julia Rausing Trust for putting your faith in our first ever Big Give Challenge, and to all the people behind the scenes who helped us exceed our target by 51% Evie O. Fern Bain Smith Miriam Kennedy Semhar Rota James Marlow Ruhamah Sonson Amy Hull Ayat S. Ellie T. 💜

Women experiencing homelessness are overlooked in official data. Violence is a major driver of homelessness among women - 1 in 5 women who experience violence become homeless, compared to just 1% of those who haven’t. Once homeless, the threat of violence remains constant. Government rough sleeping counts largely miss women, as they often hide to avoid danger. Many women we support prioritise appearing "not homeless" - for example, buying makeup instead of food - to avoid being targeted. This graphic highlights where women shelter. Some sleep on the streets, but move frequently to avoid being noticed, while others stay outside with abusive partners, because abuse from one person that you know can feel safer than unpredictable abuse from strangers. The Women's Rough Sleeping Census, led by Lucy Campbell and Eleanor Greenhalgh from Single Homeless Project and Solace Women's Aid, revealed the true number of women sleeping rough could be 9x higher than the government's official counts. This survey engaged 100s of women nationwide to push for more gender-informed services like the Marylebone Project. Learn more and support women facing homelessness by reading the full article. Thank you, Kasia Flisiuk and Amy Hull, for your insights 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/ge_-QYyG

Wow. We are so moved by all of your support for our Big Give appeal. There is less than an hour to go, and we’ve far exceeded our Big Give target of £20,000. Our goal was to raise enough to provide warm, safe spaces to women for the 12 days of Christmas. Together, we have raised enough for 18 days, taking us right up to the 11th January. That means we can continue to provide 24/7 warmth and support through our Sanctuary to women facing homelessness and crisis this winter. If you would still like to support, it’s not too late! We close at midday today and we could still win additional prizes for exceeding our target - the top prize is £3000! Whether you’ve donated, shared with your networks, or engaged with our LinkedIn posts: From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you. Special thanks to our incredible match funders Forsters LLP and Julia Rausing Trust, we're so grateful for your trust in our first Big Give appeal and for your relentless support of our services. In a landscape where women and girls charities get less than 2% of funding, your choice to stand behind us is so valuable. https://lnkd.in/eX3vCNAd

24 is the magic number ✨ ▪️ First ✨24 hours✨ of the Big Give: We’re blown away by the support - 15 generous donors have already contributed over £1,000! ▪️ That’s enough to fund our ✨24-hour✨ service, The Sanctuary. ▪️ For a full ✨24 hours✨ of warmth, safety, and support for women in need this winter. 💜 But we’re not stopping here. Our goal is to raise enough to keep the Sanctuary open for the 12 Days of Christmas. Every donation made during the Big Give is doubled, thanks to match funding from Forsters LLP and the Julia Rausing Trust, so together - we can make sure women in London have somewhere safe and warm to be this winter. Corporate Supporters—We Need You Too! Please share this appeal on your intranet and with your networks. Every share makes a world of difference. Thank you to everyone who’s already donated - you’re amazing! If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to make a difference: https://lnkd.in/gQ-pxT_g

💜 We've got big news! 💜 Firstly - Wow - thank you so much to every one of you for following our journey. We’ve just surpassed 🎉1,000 followers 🎉 with 28 days left in the year! Your support means the world to us - and to the women we serve. Today, at midday, we’ve got two very special moments to share: 1️⃣ 12:00 PM: Our Big Give Christmas Appeal launches today on GivingTuesday 🎄 This is your chance to make a huge impact - every donation will be doubled, helping us provide even more vital support to women experiencing homelessness. https://lnkd.in/e-CNirGz 2️⃣ 12:35 PM: ✨ BBC 5 Live Special ✨ This is where it all began for Karen Walker, now our Ambassador. Three years ago, Karen heard Naga Munchetty’s BBC 5 Live feature about The Sanctuary, our 24/7 women’s drop-in center. That interview inspired Karen to get involved - and since then, she’s done incredible things: funding health services, championing women’s stories, and now raising over £20,000 through her art exhibition at Yield Gallery, open until 6th December. Today, Naga returns to: ▪️ Talk with Karen about her journey and impact. ▪️ Meet Mila, who will share her story of homeless activism. ▪️ Reunite with Lola to discuss life after her time at the Marylebone Project. We rely on organic growth, so your support is everything. Thank you for helping us make a difference. Let’s end this year strong - together. Tune in at 12.35 or listen back on our Youtube 👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/e_9GM-4y Many thanks to the brilliant team who made this happen: Lucy Grey Jane Andrews Madeleine Briggs Paige Lockwell Bobby Izzard Karen Walker Kelly Carter MCIPR Sarah Catterick Jersey Road Fern Bain Smith Amy Hull Ruhamah Sonson Naga, Mila, and Lola 💜