less really”

First and VOICES and those sorts of services to spend that time to sit with a customer and try to help them through it” (SH02)

Ultimately, there was a clear sense that more understanding was needed about the impact that complex trauma can have on women, their behaviour and their ability to engage with services and the support (perceived to be) available to them. This underscored the need to reframe the approach used:

“I think it is really important that we’ve kind of got that connection and that we are kind of upskilling and increasing people’s understanding about everything that I have said about what’s difference and why a different approach is needed and, you know, why ‘x’ doesn’t work and it’s not the woman’s fault that it doesn’t work, that we need to, you know, think about doing things differently I think.” (SH03)

In light of the complexity of women’s experiences, including the impact of complex trauma and its lasting effect on cycles of behavior and engagement with services, stakeholders emphasised that women need intensive support. This was felt to sit well with the ethos of Housing First, and it was also highlighted that whilst Housing First may be able to do more than other services, they cannot do it all. The need for partnership working and connections with specialist services (and the need for accessible specialist services) were all part of this.

“But I do think, yes, Housing First, I think basically women with homelessness and complex needs, need intensive support, nothing less really, due to their kind of complexity of the issues and as I said earlier that need being higher. It needs to be reflected in more intensive support models that can kind of support women around a range of different things”. (SH06)

“they can only offer what they can, [Housing First] can’t, if there isn’t a service there like, something to fill their time or to change their friends, that kind of thing, they can’t magic it out of thin air, so they are limited to what they can offer them, but they do offer them the most that they can.” (SH08 & SH09)