Conference targets women with complex and multiple needs

Press release issued: 15 April 2013

Findings from a two-year study that looked at the experiences of women in the homeless service system will be presented at a national conference, hosted by academics at the University of Bristol, next week [24 April].

The event, which is aimed at practitioners, commissioners, and academics who work with women who have complex and multiple needs, will focus on issues such as homelessness, alcohol, drug dependency, mental health issues, and domestic violence.

Findings from two projects, the Bristol TARA project and the STELLA project, will be presented at the event.

Researchers from the University of Bristol-led TARA study, which followed a group of women over 18-months in order to identify how their experiences and needs changed over time as they moved through the homeless service system, will present their latest findings at the conference.

This will be followed by representatives from the STELLA project, a partnership between the Greater London Domestic Violence Project (GLDVP) and the Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance (GLADA), who will be discussing their latest results from the project’s recent initiative in the South West of England.

Dr Emma Williamson, conference co-ordinator and lead author of the TARA project in the University’s School of Policy Studies, said: “Homeless women often face complex and multiple issues which both lead to their homelessness and make moving forward difficult. Child abuse, domestic and sexual violence, and sexual exploitation are the reality for many homeless women which can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, as well as mental health problems including self harm. Despite the struggles they face many women were able to access the support they were offered to make positive changes in their lives. This research gives a voice to those women. This event helps to contribute to our understanding of the wide range of issues they face.”

The conference also addresses ‘Phased intervention and complex trauma’, which recognises the ways in which trauma can impact on people’s lives, and offering ways to engage with service users for whom trauma is an issue.

The free conference is being held at the University of Bristol and takes place on Wednesday 24 April 2013 from 10 am to 4 pm. For more information on this event please contact Dr Emma Williamson, e.williamson@bristol.ac.uk.