the marylebone project
CA Impact Report 2021/22
the marylebone project
The Marylebone Project is situated in the heart of London’s busy metropolitan borough. But between the daily traffic of the Marylebone station and the bustle of Oxford Street is a hub of unseen homelessness and struggle.
Church Army’s Marylebone Project provides over 100 long and short-term beds to homeless women in London and offers essential facilities and support to women through The Sanctuary, the Project’s 24/7 drop-in centre.
Many of the women come through the doors of Marylebone having reached a place of hopelessness, but at the Project they find much more than just the basic living needs. They find a home, a place of safety and the opportunity to turn their situation around for good.
We helped 95 women settle into independent living
We provided 38,072 nights of accommodation
495 women visited the Sanctuary drop-in centre
710 women attended Meaningful Activity sessions
Your impact on fighting homelessness
Your impact on fighting homelessness
Maya* was living in a night shelter when she first heard about the Marylebone Project. The shelter provided somewhere to sleep but Maya needed to find somewhere safe during the daytime. Her situation became desperate when she found out that the night shelter would soon close for good. Anxious and worried about the future, Maya started coming to the Sanctuary drop-in centre, often walking for two hours between the shelter and Marylebone.
At Marylebone Maya found more than a safe space, she also found a place to belong and an opportunity to build valuable life skills. Her support worker encouraged her to join the classes and she started attending the sewing beginners’ group. It wasn’t long before these classes also helped Maya out of a place of social isolation through spending time with a new group of women.
Maya now has accommodation at Marylebone and has joined the Project’s internal ICT Beginners course and is learning to type on the computer for the very first time.
“It’s fantastic! I have learnt how to make things that I never could. It has been a very empowering experience. It has helped me to believe in myself and strive to learn more. It has been great for my confidence building and helped me to reduce social isolation.”
- Maya
Susan* is from China, she is 55 years old and was on the verge of becoming homeless. She contacted the Sanctuary anxious about her situation – Susan and her husband were separating, and her religious beliefs meant that they could no longer live in the same house.
The stress that comes with the threat of becoming homeless is extreme, and Susan’s situation was becoming more complicated as her visa expired.
Susan’s story is still ongoing, but through the Marylebone Project she is moving forward with hope. She comes to the Sanctuary daily to participate in activities and use the facilities and has been connected with services that offer shelter to women with no recourse to public funds, and Rights of Women who offer legal advice which is helping Susan to resolve her issues with her immigration status.