Back to menu

From Isolation to Inclusion: Supporting Families with Unfold

For families living in emergency or temporary accommodation, including those in contingency hotels, the summer holidays can be an incredibly isolating period. Often lacking safe, affordable spaces to connect, these families face significant barriers to social inclusion and mental well-being. Without access to structured activities, the daily reality of housing instability becomes even more challenging, exacerbating feelings of isolation and stress.

Unfold is a vital support partner dedicated to helping young people and women with children build self-efficacy and resilience. Through their mentoring, outreach, and peer support groups, they provide a consistent, trauma-informed bridge into community life, helping participants set goals and strengthen their connections to essential local services.

How our funding helped

Our grant supported the Unfold Summer Engagement Programme, which delivered two days of free, inclusive summer activities for women and their families attending five weekly Women’s Support Groups (WSGs) across Westminster.

The funding was directly utilised to:

Host Inclusive Community Activities: Providing a safe, welcoming environment for families living in temporary accommodation to connect, play, and engage.
Reduce Social Isolation: Creating a space for peer support that helped mothers and children build belonging and reduce the anxiety caused by unstable housing.
Bridge Service Gaps: Providing a trusted gateway for families to access information on health, education, and welfare advice in a relaxed, informal setting.

Meeting an urgent need

Families in contingency hotels and temporary housing often face “systemic drift,” where it becomes difficult to maintain support as they are moved between boroughs. Unfolding a proactive outreach model is critical here; they provide needs assessments and action planning that follow the family, helping them overcome practical barriers like digital access and school engagement. This summer programme offered much-needed respite, allowing families to step out of their immediate circumstances and into a supportive community network.

Impact on wellbeing

This project provided a tangible boost to the emotional and physical well-being of the participating families. By facilitating connection, Unfold helped reduce the trauma-related isolation that often accompanies life in emergency accommodation. For the children, it provided the chance to simply be children, while for the mothers, it offered a rare opportunity to share experiences and receive support from peers, directly strengthening their confidence and ability to navigate their current circumstances.

Why this work matters

Unfold proves that support is not just about addressing crises, it is about restoring the human connections that allow people to thrive, regardless of their housing status. By investing in community and belonging, they help families move from a state of “surviving” to one of “connected living.” We are proud to support an organisation that ensures families in Westminster are not just housed but included and empowered.