ABSTRACT
The people this year on the annual Women’s Group sailing trip are Claire (senior youth worker who has done the trip every year for five years), Maria (who is working at Fresh Start on secondment from her job as a civil servant), Madihah and Lidi (Eritrean refugees who are moving between staying with friends and sleeping rough while waiting for a hostel place), Kirsty (who is currently living in a long-term hostel), and me. I get my place as take up has been rather low due to a combination of the time of year—it is September and some people are starting new college courses—and the circumstances of the young women who are currently using the centre. Those in short stay accommodation need to remain in London, just in case a place in a long-term hostel comes up.
