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The Nova Project is a ten bed accommodation service specifically for women in Reading.
The Nova Project is a ten bed accommodation service specifically for women in Reading.
We aspire to achieve equally positive outcomes with our female clients, recognising that they experience homelessness differently from men, bearing the burden of gender-based harassment, abuse and violence. The project is first and foremost a safe space for women, providing a secure place to start the process of recovery from homelessness, and one day to move on. There is no fixed timeline for clients’ stay at the Nova Project, meaning individuals can stay as long as needed.
The service offers gender-informed, individualised and intensive support to our clients, many of whom have experienced severe traumas such as domestic violence. Clients in the Nova Project have often been in and out of other services, have long histories of sleeping rough, may have been sex working, and may have been unable to sustain a tenancy. This project has had proven success in supporting women to break these cycles; to date there has been only one eviction from the service.
The project embraces a multi-agency approach to understand specific clients’ needs and how best to help individuals. There are also in-reach services to improve accessibility. The project works with other local service providers to provide specialist support to its residents, including health outreach, budgeting support, substance use services and tenancy sustainment. Where required, additional support can be provided by St Mungo’s women only Navigator and the innovative new Complex Couples Pathway, which offers women supported move on options with their partner, in line with client wishes and where appropriate. The service also organises activities to support wellbeing and life skills, including gardening and ‘Arty Afternoons’.
Recognising the value of lived experience, the Nova Project will soon benefit from peer support volunteers alongside its trained staff. This invaluable contribution will allow for clients to connect with and be supported by other women with similar life experiences and challenges, who have been able to recover and move on.
We aspire to achieve equally positive outcomes with our female clients, recognising that they experience homelessness differently from men, bearing the burden of gender-based harassment, abuse and violence. The project is first and foremost a safe space for women, providing a secure place to start the process of recovery from homelessness, and one day to move on. There is no fixed timeline for clients’ stay at the Nova Project, meaning individuals can stay as long as needed.
The service offers gender informed, individualised and intensive support to our clients, many of whom have experienced severe traumas such as domestic violence. Clients in the Nova Project have often been in and out of other services, have long histories of sleeping rough, may have been sex working, and may have been unable to sustain a tenancy. This project has had proven success in supporting women to break these cycles; to date there has been only one eviction from the service.
The project embraces a multi agency approach to understand specific clients’ needs and how best to help individuals. There are also in-reach services to improve accessibility. The project works with other local service providers to provide specialist support to its residents, including health outreach, budgeting support, substance use services and tenancy sustainment. Where required, additional support can be provided by St Mungo’s women only Navigator and the innovative new Complex Couples Pathway, which offers women supported move on options with their partner, in line with client wishes and where appropriate. The service also organises activities to support wellbeing and life skills, including gardening and ‘Arty Afternoons’.
Recognising the value of lived experience, the Nova Project will soon benefit from peer support volunteers alongside its trained staff. This invaluable contribution will allow for clients to connect with and be supported by other women with similar life experiences and challenges, who have been able to recover and move on.
3 Thomas More Square, Tower Hill, London E1W 1YW | 020 3856 6000 | info@mungos.org
© 2024 St Mungo’s Registered Charity No 1149085, Company No 8225808, Housing Association No LH0279, VAT Registration No. 155 134 821
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