Month: November 2025

Healing Homes West

Comments from Laura Hickman, Co/Founder, Social Worker & Therapeutic Lead

1. How are you helping to tackle child poverty in London?

‘Healing Homes West’ is a small women-led community project transforming unsafe housing into healing spaces for children and single parent families living in poverty in West London.

At Healing Homes West, we believe that every child has the right to grow up in a safe and comfortable home. Trauma recovery is not possible without the safe foundations. We provide trauma informed makeovers, working alongside families, supporting participation throughout the process. We furnish bedrooms and whole homes, by offering hands-on, compassionate support to create welcoming, uplifting spaces for families who need it most. We work alongside families and referrers taking into account the individual needs of the family and providing a practical solution that can support wider parenting or mental health concerns.

Our referrals are mainly from social workers and local partners where poor housing conditions are negatively impacting on the child’s and family’s wellbeing.

Too often we feel powerless to address the practical aspects of poor housing. While we cannot change the housing system, we can work together to alleviate some of the immediate challenges. Our makeovers not only provide fast, practical relief, but can also open the door to stronger engagement with support services that lead to better outcomes for children and families.

We rely on the kindness of volunteers, good quality second-hand donations, new donations from brands that would otherwise go into landfill, we use amazon wish lists and privately fundraise.

2. Tell us something you are excited about?

Healing Homes West has been developing slowly over the last 18 months and we still have much to learn but are totally committed. We have established a strong identity for Healing Homes West and created a model that we believe is compassionate, effective and empowering.

We are excited by our achievements so far, we have helped over 60 people including 14 bespoke bedrooms as well as refurbishing 6 whole flats, since July 24. We have also refurbished two refuges for women and children escaping domestic abuse to create welcoming, calming shared spaces that would support connection and recovery.

The feedback we have received from carers, children, and referrers has been overwhelmingly positive, clearly demonstrating the transformative power of improving home conditions.  Not only do these changes create safer and more comfortable environments, but they also have a wider ripple effect, enhancing overall wellbeing for families.

We are excited for when our charity is officially registered as this will allow us to support many more children and families, experience the far-reaching benefits of a healing home.

3. Share with our members something positive about your organisation’s achievement or service?

Our most recent makeover was creating a bedroom for a courageous 14-year-old girl. She has had a really tough time and as a young carer, has faced isolation and loneliness. Following the makeover, she expressed her gratitude by sending us a beautiful poem, which she has kindly allowed me to share with you.

My Pink Room

I’m only fourteen, but I feel so much older, the world put its weight on my tiny shoulders.

I make tea for nan when she cries or screams, and whisper to silence my broken dreams.

we used to sit and watch tv together but now even being in the same room with her makes my body shiver, some days her words cut deep like glass, but i smile even though I’m  holding back  tears, I can feel my breathe start to shake and my throat start to ache, there was no place I could call my own, no space to breathe no “me” just “home” just walls that echoed, cold and grey where laughter faded long away. 

then one day they build me a room,

the first time I opened that white door I cried, I cried because I’ve never had a room that was just “mine” soft green walls that harmonized with the pink everything was just perfect. outside my door the shouting stays, but in my room the hurt decays, and maybe that’s all I needed to bloom a little pink hope, in my little pink room.

Thank you Healing Homes West

Dxx

4. What can other network members learn from you or find out more about through you?

We work alongside families and professionals as part of a wider intervention that can lead to change. Our team consists of women with different experiences and skills that complement each other and include interior design, social work and trauma recovery. We are passionate about sharing what we do and are keen to work in collaboration with anyone working to support children and families living in poverty.  Our dream is for our Healing Homes model to be adopted and established in other parts of London and the UK.

5. What would most help you achieve your goals?

Achieving charity status – have social media and admin support, find sponsorship, increase our partnerships, identify funding, have a van and one day a healing community space where families can come and connect with one another.

6. Why did you join 4in10? What do you enjoy about being part of the 4in10 network?

The experiences of children and families living in poverty are so often invisible and ignored. In London its especially striking to see extreme wealth and deprivation existing side by side, yet so many people don’t grasp the reality of what it means for the lives of people affected. We joined 4 in 10 to be part of a collective voice, we are passionate about improving outcomes for children living in poverty and your network really helps give a voice to those who need it and brings other organisations together helping towards shaping change.