A passion for supporting vulnerable women is the driving force behind an intrepid fundraiser who arrives in Birmingham on the latest leg of her mammoth ten-night Sleepout across the UK.
The stopover, on February 3rd, marks the third consecutive sleepout for Lianne Kirkman, in her gruelling Her Fight, Our Night Challenge, in support of her charity The Esther Project.
Her journey, which begins in her home town of Leamington Spa on February 1st, is also taking her to Coventry, Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, London, Doncaster, Hull and, finally Blackpool, where, en route, she will meet local organisations supporting women and raising awareness of the complex issues and best practice solutions and highlighting the gaps in service provision.
Whilst in Birmingham, she will spend time learning about the work of three charities – Anawim – Birmingham’s Centre for Women; She Beasts CIC and Change Kitchen.
The 50-year-old mum of two said: “I want to highlight the need for more women’s centres and some of the great work and some good practice around the UK and we want to work with the other charities to highlight the issue around the Government’s role in funding women’s services.
“Every experience is going to be different but I know that we’re going to be met with the same issues around funding, around women not being safe, the effects of trauma and the cycle of abuse, the poverty cycle and women in and out of the criminal justice system.”
Founded in 1986 by two pioneering nuns, Anawim offers holistic and tailored wraparound support to more than 1,700 women in Birmingham every year through drop-in, counselling, crisis intervention, holistic and intensive long-term specialist support, advocacy and other practical resources, in both the community and in prison. Their busy drop-in service provides support to any woman for any issue, but primarily those around financial, mental health, and domestic abuse.
CEO, Joy Doal said: “We’re more than happy to support Lianne in her mission of raising awareness about the rise in female homelessness, as it’s an issue of the utmost importance. The number of women being released from prison into homelessness is rising, and we are increasingly seeing women at the centre who are street homeless.
“Insecure and unsafe housing is the biggest issue in Birmingham. It will get worse too, for example, just up the road from us, in Moseley, a women’s hostel is being converted to mixed accommodation, something we’re very concerned about. Until women’s needs are fully recognised by society, we will continue to fight for justice and advocate for change.”
Founded in 2021 by Sadie Jones, She Beasts CIC is a movement dedicated to empowering females from all walks of life to reclaim their strength and overcome adversity. Inspired by Sadie’s personal journey of resilience and lived experience, She Beasts provides females with the tools they need to grow stronger—inside and out, through transformative workshops, buddy coaching and accredited fitness qualifications.
Sadie Jones said: “Being part of The Esther Project’s SleepOut is an honour. Both my team and I have firsthand experience with domestic abuse and other forms of trauma, and we understand the complex challenges individuals can face. The Esther Project provides vital services that support and empower women in need.”
ChangeKitchen CIC was founded in 2010 to support people furthest from the labour market back to work and provides meals and bespoke food parcels for those in need. In 2013 they opened the Kindness Cafe in Balsall Heath offering free meals. Currently they are delivering 158 tasty healthy meals every Monday to Wednesday to a hotel in Small Heath to families housed after threat of homelessness.
Dr Birgit Kehrer said: “I founded ChangeKitchen CIC originally with SIFA Fireside because when working with their service users, I realised how much need there is for work placements for people wanting to make a fresh start after having been affected by homelessness – and how few opportunities there are elsewhere in the city.
“ChangeKitchen’s founding principle is that everyone deserves a second, third or fourth chance and a decent work environment as well as a warm home and enough to eat. Many of the people who have started working with ChangeKitchen CIC after a long time out of work have found fulfilling work within our social enterprise and elsewhere but often stay in touch as they call us ‘their family.’ ”
Lianne’s challenge will also be documented by film maker, Laura Harvey of Vibe Immersive, and later screened as part of a special conference organised as part of International Women’s Day weekend, on March 7th.
The Esther Project and Esther House are women-only initiatives providing gender-specific supported living accommodation as well as a weekly programme of activities to reduce isolation and improve skills. The ambition is to open a hub, a safe space where women can meet, access key support services and develop new skills for employability alongside an alternative to custody, situated in a rural location for women with more complex needs.
Lianne said: “But the bigger dream, within the next 18 months, is to have a 24/7 space that offers provision such as those we’re visiting over the 10 days. We’re looking at how we can meet all those needs and learn from all these amazing spaces. What’s good practice? I want to see what’s working for them in the areas of counselling, employability, homelessness and women in and out of the criminal justice system. There’s some great projects out there.”
The challenge is also being supported by Warwickshire sponsors Lockwoods Ski & Outdoor; Raised Modular Flooring (RMF); The Leader Marketing Partnership; Cool Fox Tees; Comtec Translations, Esque Beauty and Pentlands Accountants and Advisors.
Lianne said: “We’ve got to stop that cycle of abuse. Women caught up in domestic abuse don’t dare leave their partner but if they do they end up in poverty and lose their house and that’s the trigger for the whole mess they end up in. And women are being thrown into overcrowded prisons for stealing a loaf of bread to feed their children, and non-violent crimes when they should be getting treatment for the pain and trauma they’ve previously gone through. Why are we not treating women the right way?”
Money raised will fund women’s services in Warwickshire including the future hub. To sponsor Lianne visit: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/Her-Fight-Our-Night-10-day-sleepout-across-the-UK