"I've become a bit of a one-stop shop" - Sheffield's Gender Specific Housing Officer - 22/06/2026

"Nine times out of ten, the barriers weren't about the women not wanting help. It was that the system wasn't set up in a way that worked for them." 

That's how Kerry, who holds a specialist gender-specific role as a Homeless Case Officer within Sheffield City Council's Rough Sleeper team, describes what she found when she started in post.

Kerry's role was created in response to a clear gap. Research and data were showing that the female cohort of people at risk of sleeping rough in Sheffield were significantly harder to reach than men, weren't accessing the same provision, and weren't seeing the same outcomes. A new role was created, funded by Sheffield City Council, with a specialist focus to do things differently, with processes adapted to better meet the needs of the women being supported.

"Women just weren't connecting with services in the same way," said Kerry. "They couldn't sit in a housing office for hours. They couldn't always be in certain areas. The processes were long and complicated, and nobody had the time to break it all down for them."

Kerry began by going out and meeting the services that support women in Sheffield, including SWWOP and Chocolate Box, and crucially, speaking to the women themselves. What the women told her shaped her focus for her role.

Rather than leading with housing, Kerry positioned herself alongside the services women were already accessing, and in the places where they were getting their most basic needs met. She started showing up, building familiarity and letting conversations develop naturally.

"I didn't jump straight into housing assessments," said Kerry. "I just started being there. And slowly, conversations started shifting. My role is very much managing the chaos behind the scenes, ensuring that the women just experience a calm, welcoming and excepting front door."

Over time, she began simplifying the housing process by breaking it into manageable steps, maintaining weekly contact even when nothing was happening on the housing front, and looking beyond housing to the full picture of what each woman needed.

"If they're struggling with benefits, or in a difficult relationship, or their mental health is suffering, I'll raise that too," said Kerry. "I put referrals in, make sure they're getting holistic care, and try to change what's happening for them across the board. Because you can finally get one thing sorted and find everything else has gone back to square one.”

Kerry describes positioning herself alongside trusted services and familiar faces as a way to encourage women who might otherwise be wary to be more likely to give her a chance. “If you're connected with someone that women already trust, you start the relationship on a much more approachable path," said Kerry.

In the early months of her role, progress was slow. Women didn't know Kerry, didn't trust her, and weren't ready to share what was really going on. More recently, that has changed dramatically.

"There's been a real catalyst moment in the last few months," said Kerry. "Everywhere I go, I'm connecting people up. I've got working relationships with benefits, probation, police, and women's services. I can be a one-stop shop and go to women wherever they are, rather than expecting them to sit and wait for appointments that don't work for their lives."

The value of that approach is felt clearly by the services working alongside Kerry. Mary, from SWWOP, describes the role as transformative for the women they support.

"The implementation of the gender-specific housing officer role has been imperative for the women who access SWWOP," said Mary. "The women we support are often isolated from other services and may only access SWWOP, and find the thought of engaging in a housing assessment very daunting and intimidating. Kerry's role means that women can see a housing worker within a space they feel comfortable in. She understands the complexities these women face, meets them where they are, takes it at their pace, and allows a trusting relationship to form over a cuppa and a chat."

Mary also highlights the role Kerry plays in reaching women who fall outside traditional homelessness statistics, including those staying with perpetrators of violence, or working through the night with nowhere safe to return to, who, without Kerry's presence in spaces they already trust, might never be reached at all.

Kerry describes one woman who had been sex working for years and initially wanted nothing to do with housing support. Three months into their relationship, she began to open up, first about her past, then about where she'd like to be. Then one day, she was waiting for Kerry when she arrived.

"That was my first one, and I thought, is it me, or would this have happened anyway?" said Kerry. "And then it happened again, and again, and again. I think it is the way of working that's changing things. When you've got everyone, probation, domestic violence services, housing, social care, all surrounding a woman together, and you've changed every routine to meet her where she is, I think that really helps her trust that this time might be different."

Success in this work rarely looks the way targets might expect. Staying in contact, answering a call, and turning up for an appointment are all milestones that matter.

"Unfortunately, targets can become more about what the professional wants to achieve than what the client actually needs," said Kerry. "My job is to push back on that, to say, this isn't happening this week because of X, Y,  and Z. And my team has been really accommodating of that. They listen and completely understand."

When women disengage, as they inevitably sometimes do, Kerry's approach is to hold the door open, not close it.

"I don't make it an issue if someone goes off the radar," she said. "I look at what's working and what's not, and I advocate for them. If a woman can't face sitting through another full assessment because she only had one three weeks ago, I'll make sure that information carries over, so she doesn't have to go through it all again."

She is equally thoughtful about how sensitive disclosures are handled. Rather than working through a checklist, Kerry focuses on the relationship, the environment, and making sure that wherever a conversation goes, the woman is in a safe place before it ends.

"If someone discloses domestic violence, I don't just tick a box and move on," said Kerry. "I make sure she knows what happens next, that nothing goes anywhere she doesn't want it to, and I check in with her in the days after. That matters on every level."

When asked what she would change if she could, Kerry's wish list is clear: more female-only accommodation options, a central one-stop-shop space for women's services, and above all, more flexibility to respond to women's needs as they change in real time.

"Things change constantly," said Kerry. "You can have someone really close to a breakthrough, and then overnight everything shifts. You need to be able to respond straight away and not be tied to a plan that was made on Monday morning. These women are used to being let down. When you say you're going to do something, you do it, straight away. That's what builds the trust that makes everything else possible."

Kerry also speaks about the importance of involving women in shaping the services designed to support them.

"There's research from Glasgow going back to 1997 that asked women exactly what they needed and changed services around their answers," said Kerry. "I was reading the research recently, and the stories were the same. I thought, why aren't more cities doing this like Sheffield is, and why has it taken so many years? We've got the information. That's what makes me passionate about this role. It is possible to do this differently.”

As told to Alison Wise for Help us Help, June 2026

 

Editor’s note:

The yearly Women’s Rough Sleeping Census was established to gather more comprehensive data on women experiencing rough sleeping. The census also aims to improve support and service provision for women who are rough sleeping or experiencing other forms of hidden homelessness by working closely with outreach and support services to promote gender-informed practice.

The census is a partnership-led initiative led by Sheffield City Council’s commissioned street outreach service Framework and has significantly enhanced local understanding of the experiences and needs of women facing homelessness. The evidence gathered through the census contributed to the decision to introduce a dedicated gender-specific role. Following three years of census activity, it became clear that the changes and improvements required by women experiencing homelessness had not been achieved at the pace needed. In response, Sheffield City Council established a specialist role focused on addressing the specific needs of women and strengthening gender-informed support across services.