Our new Connect Hub is OPEN

Hello – my name is Hannah and I have the privilege of leading the team that will be delivering our brand new community and support centre for women, The Connect Hub. Today (Monday 13th May 2024) we open our doors for the first time to start on what I know will be an amazing journey of bringing women together in a safe place, driven and led by the voices and experiences of women experiencing homelessness.

Centred around opportunities for development, wellbeing and connection, we are providing women with pathways to build skills and connections to help tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness. Working collaboratively with statutory and third sector organisations we have created a safe place where women can access the right support, in the right way, at the right time.

This project has been both innovative and unique in its development, upholding and centring the voices of women with lived and living experience of homelessness. In 2023, we worked with 75 women experiencing homelessness to provide a safe space to access psychoeducational group work, peer support and opportunities to improve wellbeing. Building on this work, we continued to work alongside women to centre their vision, expertise and skills in the design and development of a model for a woman’s centre. Over the last year, we have worked alongside six individual women who have formed our Steering Group, informing and shaping the design of The Connect Hub and ensuring it is representative of a gender informed centre. We have built on what women have told us over the last year, listened, responded and acted upon their wishes and guidance.

Together, we have:

• Designed a model of support that is holistic, person-centred and meets women’s practical and psychological needs;
• Built a team of creative, passionate and skilled practitioners;
• Met with partnership organisations, established new connections and collaborated on what partners are important to women to deliver from The Connect Hub
• Developed psychoeducational group work programmes that are based on harm reduction, peer support, learning and development and psychological safety;
• Raised awareness of why gendered support is essential within homelessness;
• Redeveloped our information capture and sharing processes to ensure these are strengths-based and focused on women’s wellbeing;
• Created a gender informed centre for women focused on inclusion and safety, The Connect Hub.

Every day we support 39 women in Glasgow city centre through our residential accommodation women’s only spaces as well as many more women through our street team and Access Hub. Providing trauma-informed, psychologically responsive care, Simon Community Scotland has the privilege of building relationships alongside women. We have extensive experience as an organisation – not only in responding to the needs of women, but listening to how we can improve our services and support to reflect and respond to what is important for people and where the gaps are. The Connect Hub will continue this work, with an emphasis on co-production and ensuring that the space continues to evolve depending on what women are telling us they need. 

We are working with over 25+ partners to deliver this model, ensuring that women can access support for their physical, emotional, sexual and mental health. We are also working with third sector organisations who work within the creative arts to provide opportunities for women to get involved in therapeutic activities, come together and have fun! 

We have been on an immense journey over the last year developing this project. I could never have imagined that over 4 years ago when I joined Simon Community Scotland, I would have the privilege of leading on such an inspiring piece of work that is intent on making systemic change for women. 

We will continue to share the developments, progress and work of The Connect Hub as we grow, and look forward to welcoming women into this space.