What I’ve been working on so far
- Tenancy Sustainment Survey: Designed a survey to understand how Cambridge’s core services support people transitioning into their own homes, intending to reduce homelessness recurrence.
- Women’s Service Activities: Began organising daytime activities, including developing a podcast platform for women to share their experiences navigating the system.
- Cross-sector engagement: Met organisations across Cambridge to understand their approaches, challenges, and innovations in tackling homelessness.
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- Women’s Census: Attended the first of many meetings to set up the Women’s Homelessness Census 2026, with this being ITAC’s first year running the Census
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- Support Pillar Priorities: I am working with the Chair of the Support Pillar to find out from members of the Pillar what their priorities are in terms of supporting people experiencing homelessness
Reflections from the past fortnight
This week, I had the opportunity to visit WinterComfort, one of the service providers in Cambridge. It was intriguing to see how their day provision is run, and the ways through which they support service users.
I also have had multiple opportunities to visit ITAC’s Summer Project, ‘176’ and see how that differs from their Winter Project, ‘Crossways’. Having the distinction between the two projects, which share a premises, taught me the ways in which aid can be provided to service users at varying points in their journeys towards tenancy and step-down support.
Moreover, I met with members of the University of Cambridge Museums and Collections’ Access & Outreach team, which gave me insight into the ways they support communities outside of the University, breaking down barriers to access which might prevent some from engaging with the Museum exhibitions.
Leadership lessons I didn’t expect
One of the biggest realisations that I’ve had thus far is that you can’t create meaningful change by trying to do everything at once. Slowing down, interrogating my assumptions and paying close attention to detail really matters, because even small missteps have the potential to shift the direction of a project.
This became clear in Week 2, when I recognised that my initial project with the Cambridge Homelessness Charter’s Support Pillar wasn’t going to be feasible. After a strategic reset, we refocussed on a more targeted and impactful goal of mapping tenancy support across Cambridge and producing recommendations to reduce returns to homelessness.
That pivot ultimately taught me the value of flexibility and capacity, which are core leadership traits mattering more than rigidly sticking to the original plan.
What’s next
However, there are still plenty of things for me to do, including:
- Launching activities for service users who identify as female
- Building long-term partnerships with organisations willing to co-deliver regular programming
- Deepening insights from the tenancy sustainment survey
- Writing the tenancy sustainment report
- Data analysis for the Support Pillar’s priorities tables
- Organising volunteer outreach for the first year ITAC is running the Cambridge Women’s Homelessness Census
- Establishing training programs and promotion for the Haven’s podcast to explore women’s experiences with the system and services across Cambridge City and beyond
Why this experience matters
Overall, this project has already been one of the most influential experiences of my academic and personal journey. Meeting people who care deeply about the communities they serve reinforced my commitment to advocating for systems which treat people with the dignity and respect they deserve, as well as designing solutions shaped by lived experience.
I can’t wait to see what the next three weeks bring, and how this work will continue to evolve!