Solace 50th celebrations at Westminster
Solace’s hard work over the past five decades was celebrated at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, where Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Phillips MP and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims Alex Davies-Jones MP, joined survivors, politicians, funders, partners and Solace colleagues. Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Kaya Comer-Schwartz rounded off our VIP speakers at the event, where MPs and others pledged support for safe and affordable housing for survivors, and sustainable funding for specialist services.
Solace at launch of Mayor’s new domestic abuse safe accommodation strategy
CEO of Solace, Nahar Choudhury, met with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Tom Copley, London Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, sister organisations and survivors at Lambeth Town Hall last month to launch the Mayor’s new Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy and a new £6 million investment to help domestic abuse survivors get the support they need to reach safe accommodation. This meeting featured a round table discussion where the considerable need for sustainable funding, and specialist support for women with complex, intersectional challenges (such as homelessness and domestic abuse) were discussed in detail.
Barnet MP visits Solace Refuge
Dan Tomlinson MP (Labour, Chipping Barnet) visited a Solace refuge near his constituency. During his visit he was given a tour around the house, spoke to survivors, and spoke to the Solace team about our challenges and key asks, mostly around the need for housing (especially move-on housing), the challenges and gatekeeping our service users face when applying for accommodation, and our call for long-term, sustainable funding. Solace is happy to have his support as he will continue to advocate for more funding for services like ours.
Harm to Home podcast on our Housing First VAWG service
Last month, we were part of a live podcast with Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse and Westminster City Council to discuss the progress made by our Westminster VAWG Housing First project. This ground-breaking project is in its fifth year and provides safe, stable housing for women affected by long-term homelessness and violence against women and girls.
Thank you to H&M for their International Women’s Day support
For International Women’s Day we were happy to have the support of H&M as they created care packs for women in our accommodation services. The care packs included sweaters, leggings, and mobile phones, among other items.
Follow us on social media!