The Importance of Social Bite’s Women’s Group and Creative Writing

The many complex reasons that result in homelessness, including relationship breakdown, can often mean that the homelessness community is a more male-dominated environment. So for women who have been through trauma in the form of domestic violence or abuse, homelessness services can sometimes be inaccessible because they’re triggering. 

At Social Bite, we believe in providing a trauma-informed space that anyone over the age of 16 can feel comfortable to access. We know our free food provision can be a male-dominated environment, so at our Glasgow coffee shop we provide a women-only group. It starts after our sit-in mixed supper, to offer a secure, safe space for women to access food as well as support from our dedicated Development and Support Worker.  

Alongside these essential services, we also like to make these groups fun! Our women’s group is an opportunity for women affected by homelessness to socialise together and form friendships. Each week we do this through various activities, like knitting and crochet, arts and crafts, bingo, and most recently creative writing. 

Social Bite has been able to provide writing sessions with the women’s group thanks to a partnership with Open Book, which a charity that puts volunteers and writers together to work with different groups on poetry and writing. Our sessions have been hosted by the poet Julie McNeill, and it’s been wonderful to have her help the women see their potential and write some beautiful poems. 

Julie commented that “it’s been such a pleasure to work with the women’s group in partnership with Social Bite. I’ve been blown away by their creativity, honesty and how much of themselves they have poured into the sessions. I come away every month feeling inspired, invigorated and very lucky to have had the opportunity to spend time working on creative projects together.” 

It’s so important to have this outlet. Some of the women who attend the group have been through so much but are able to talk and relate to each other through their experience. Getting together weekly, and having activities like the writing workshops, helps the women let out some stress and create happiness.  

Watch this space for when the sessions are complete and we’re able to publish the poems they’ve written together as a group!