Cyrenians Partners With WiSH On Housing Programme For Women and Children Fleeing Domestic Abuse

Cyrenians, a charity organisation aimed at tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness,  has partnered with the Women in Safe Homes Fund (WiSH), becoming the first organization in Scotland to do so. WiSH purchases homes and leases them to nonprofits serving women who are seeking refuge from abusive relationships.

Up to 30 Edinburgh homes will be leased out by Cyrenians, with  additional trauma counselling and other services.

Viki Fox is the manager of policy and participation at Cyrenians. However, she has first-hand knowledge of domestic violence.

"I stayed much longer than I should have," she said to STV News. "I knew if I left, I'd be homeless and having to present as homeless, I didn't know where I would end up, if I'd be in a homeless B&B, or where I would be, so it was almost better the devil you know."

Ms Fox slept in a homeless shelter for 18 months after she broke up with her partner.

"It wasn't ideal, but at least it gave me a place to try and move on and start rebuilding my life," she added.

“Once you’ve come out of an abusive relationship, that isn’t then the end – you’re left with all these feelings of shame, of really low self esteem. I felt like I’d been brought down to nothing, really.”

The new collaboration with WiSH is meant to aid other women in a similar situation. Property purchases are made possible thanks to the fund, and those purchases are guaranteed to be of a good quality and located in convenient areas.

This is a crucial strategy for helping victims of domestic violence maintain their current levels of work and educational attainment.

Amy Hutton, director of services at Cyrenians, said: “We expect over the lifetime of the fund – the next seven years – to be able to offer accommodation to in the region of 200 women and children.

“We want, where possible, women to almost bypass the need to go into mainstream temporary accommodation, because it can be distressing, disorientating, and potentially very traumatic for them.

“So this offers an opportunity to access good quality temporary accommodation, which can allow people the time to recover and receive support until they can take the next step into more permanent accommodation.”