ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

One in five London women over the age of 75 lives alone in substandard housing. This shocking fact is highlighted in a report, A Woman's Space, published this week by the London Housing Federation and the Women's Housing Forum. The report also reveals that, despite the range of small schemes for vulnerable women, specialist housing for women fails to meet demand because funding is scarce: the Housing Corporation receives four times as many bids for general needs and supported housing projects as it can afford to fund.

According to the report, elderly women, teenage mothers and domestic abuse survivors can be helped, but housing associations have to seize the initiative now – and they need extra funding to do it.

Campaigners are calling on central and local government, the London regional housing board, the Housing Corporation and the Greater London Authority to work with housing associations on strategies for women. They say start-up funding is required and national strategies should be drawn up.

In the long term, it makes financial sense to develop specialist housing support for vulnerable women rather than relying on benefits, healthcare and social care, as these three case studies show. Domestic violence costs agencies across London £278m each year. Placing a child in residential care in the capital costs, on average, £2000 a week; and nursing home care for an elderly woman can cost as much as £1100 a week.

Eaves Women's Aid
Eaves Women's Aid in Chelsea, west London, provides 11 homes for women and their children who have survived abuse, and a community outreach service with the Metropolitan police community safety unit.

When a woman arrives, a preliminary needs assessment is carried out to ascertain whether domestic violence is the problem and whether the woman wants to stay. A secondary assessment considers other support needs, including drug- or alcohol-related problems.

After a maximum of six months, the woman is helped to move on. The resettlement team will find the women and her children a home in a different area, if this is necessary, and negotiate with councils, schools and the benefits agency on her behalf.

The scheme is funded by the Housing Corporation and Kensington & Chelsea council. It costs £393 a week for one mother and three children.

Denise Marshall, chief executive of Eaves, says: "When you look at the cost of domestic violence unchecked, it becomes astronomical. Dealing with the issue properly is really cost-effective. It also gives the women a safe place to go and a chance to turn their lives around."

Subira
Subira, part of Ekaya Housing Association, provides six homes for mothers aged 16-25 and their babies in Wandsworth, south London. Each woman has a large bedroom in the shared house and the use of kitchens, bathrooms, a lounge, laundry room and garden. There is a room equipped to encourage the mothers to play and interact with their children.

The scheme is aimed at young women who need a small amount of support in anything from parenting to social skills. There are fortnightly counselling sessions and the women are encouraged to be confident – they have a say in how things are run.

Subira is funded by a Supporting People grant from Wandsworth council. Rent and support charges cost £190 per place per week.

Beverley McFarlane, housing manager at Subira, says: "The scheme costs are greater than what we receive under Supporting People, but Ekaya is fully committed to providing a good-quality, cost-effective service."

Mary Smith Court
Mary Smith Court, run by Women's Pioneer Housing, provides 61 homes for elderly women at Earl's Court in west London. These can be either a permanent home or a place to stay and recover from injury or illness. There are a mixture of self-contained flats and residential care rooms for those who are more frail.

District nurses have a base in the home, there is medical assistance on-hand for visits to the bathroom and meals, a laundry service and weekly keep-fit classes.

The project is funded by Kensington & Chelsea council and the Housing Corporation. Each place costs about £450 a week; day-to-day service costs are met by Supporting People.

Deputy manager Daphne McNally says: "We catch people in time, and are often able to give them respite care and then they can go back to living independently, rather than go to a traditional nursing home."