New Oxford house to offer safety and support for homeless women
Charity Homeless Oxfordshire refurbishes eight-bedroom house to help more women
A new house for women experiencing homelessness is set to open its doors in Oxford later this month.
The house, part of Homeless Oxfordshire’s Women’s Project, will offer safe and stable place for eight women, doubling the capacity of its current women-only accommodation in the city.
This initiative aims to address the unique challenges faced by women who are homeless by providing a trauma-informed environment tailored to their needs.
Speaking about some of the difficulties they face, Liza Clothier from the charity said:
“A lot of women we support have experience of domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, they might be dealing with addiction and substance use so it can be really traumatizing for them to be in a mixed gender environment and they find it hard to engage with support because they're having to keep their barriers up.
"It's really important that we have this women-only space where they can receive support from female staff and concentrate on their healing and their recovery," Liza added.
Workers will be on-site to provide specialist support, alongside structured daily activities such as living skills courses and physical exercise.
The house was purchased in October 2025 and transformed into a welcoming, trauma-informed environment using funds raised through the Her Way Home appeal.
Renovation work included fresh paint, new flooring, and bespoke furnishing.
Local businesses, charitable trusts, and organisations like Dulux Decorator Centre, Fine & Country Foundation, and CRASH Charity contributed funds, materials, and services.
Carli Flory, Women’s Services Team Leader at Homeless Oxfordshire, highlighted the importance of creating a space that helps residents feel valued, saying:
"The women we work with feel that they're so, they feel like they don't deserve anything. Their self-worth is so low, they feel they've been let down all their lives and I think us moving them into that property is going to be really special."
The accommodation serves as a stepping stone for women, helping them transition towards stable homes and independent lives.
Residents will be surrounded by a supportive community, with opportunities to build connections with one another and create positive networks within the area.
Liza said: “We're already looking at two of the women that we're working with going into volunteer positions and working on other projects so it all looks really quite exciting.
"We can't wait to open the house and be there to deliver the support."