Inspired by Blis-ta by Sonya Hale, this panel discussion will focus on the experience of women and hidden homelessness.
In 2019 there were 3,262 women recorded as homeless on arrival in custody, up 71% from the previous year. In 2020 six out of ten women leaving prison had nowhere safe to go. The cycle of homelessness and the criminal justice system remains a major and escalating issue for women in the UK today.
Inspired by Blis-ta by Sonya Hale, this panel discussion will focus on the experience of women and hidden homelessness.
We ask our panel: what options do women have when they leave prison? What is being done in wider society to find solutions for women experiencing homelessness to survive? What is being done nationally to solve this crisis?
Joining the panel will be:
Ellen Jenkins - Clean Break Member
Esther Baker - Artistic Director, Synergy Theatre
Judith Banjoko - Director of Services, Solace Women's Aid
Zaiba Qureshi - Chief Executive, Housing for Women
About the audio drama
Kat and Cherry meet on the streets. Kat is wily, funny, and fierce; Cherry is a lost dreamer. Blis-ta is the story of their adventures to survive as homeless girls and the transformative power of friendship.
Written by the late Sonya Hale, a Clean Break Member, this is a wild tale of resilience, hidden homelessness, the lengths women go to for survival.
Blis-ta is directed by Róisín McBrinn, performed by Ambreen Razia and Ria Zmitrowicz, composition and sound design by Helen Skiera, dramaturgy by Gillian Greer and produced by Mimi Findlay, with an introduction by Clean Break Patron, Lucy Kirkwood.
Listen to the audio drama from 18 May on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud or wherever you get your podcasts.
