Kelly is featured here with her 'street family' which includes her brother to the left and front, her boyfriend is lying behind her, to her right is a friend and an Eastern European immigrant woman who has received 'several random street beatings', which - according to Kelly - were totally unprovoked and unwarranted and quite severe; the facial bruises were quite visible. I told Kelly she was one of few female street sleepers I have been able to interview and the first one that will feature on the blog. So I took the opportunity of allowing her to lead on the message content.
She told me that she and her boyfriend have been together for over 5 years yet are unable to be accommodated in hostels as a couple. Recently she had been turfed out of a local hostel and black listed for smuggling him into her room. The pet is also another challenge. Kelly is a heroine addict who wants support to dry out. She has been given the 'impossible task' of having to present herself dry to take up services then be given a script to adhere to of good and worthy conduct - before she can be granted a government detox programme. Suffice to say, to date, Kelly has found this impossible.
She is rumoured to have had a physical altercation in her last hostel which also led to her black-listing, one where the dog accidentally got embroiled in the scuffles - her domestic situation simply wont be accommodated within Dorset consequently - since all local hostels have been forewarned not to attempt to house her.
The nurturing nature of women often translates to them coming with dependants and loved ones - we often wont move in isolation. For women, homelessness is both threatening and complex to navigate. Many of the women I have spoken to tell tails of domestic violence which generated the original and on-going domestic turbulence. However complex the situation is - the fact still remains that homelessness for women comes with the added threat of violence - sexual and domestic - and addiction or mental health issues often accompany the story - yet the need is real and acute. The life of the female homeless is one none of us should experience or tolerate.
