A passion for supporting vulnerable women is the driving force behind one fundraiser's mammoth mission to sleep on the streets for ten consecutive nights in towns across the UK. 

Lianne Kirkman will commence the gruelling Her Fight, Our Night Sleepout challenge on February 1, in support of the Leamington-based The Esther Project, a charity she launched in 2023. 

Her journey will take her to Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, London, Doncaster, Hull and, finally Blackpool, where, along the way, she will meet local organisations supporting women and raising awareness of the complex issues and best practice solutions which currently exist, as well as highlighting the gaps in service provision. 

Lianne is being joined for the first Sleepout, in Leamington's Pump Room Gardens, by supporters Jonathan Handford, of Fine & Country in Leamington; Elinor Perry of Pentlands Accountants, Leamington; Gurdip Chatha, of Esque Beauty, Leamington, Sophie Howe of Comtec Translations in Sydenham, and Leamington foodie, presenter and entrepreneur Bianca Rodrigues-Perry.

She is being supported on her tour by members of the charity team, Lisa Nicholle and Kerry Steward as well as Laura Harvey of Vibe Immersive. 

Lianne's tour will also be documented by local film maker Laura Harvey and later screened as part of a special conference organised as part of International Women's Day weekend, on March 7. 

Lianne's tour will also be documented by local film maker Laura Harvey (image by Dave Perry Photography)

The 50-year-old mum of two said: "What I would like to show through this Sleep Out is that women need women-only services to keep them safe. I'm now launching a new venture and I am really keen to highlight the lack of funding for women's services. 

"I want to highlight the need for more women's centres and some of the great work and some good practice around the UK and we want to work with the other charities to highlight the issue around the Government's role in funding women's services. 

"Every experience is going to be different because sleeping in Royal Leamington Spa is going to be very different to sleeping in Doncaster, which will be very different again to sleeping in London or Plymouth etc.

"But I know that we're going to be met with the same issues around funding, around women not being safe, the effects of trauma and the cycle of abuse, the poverty cycle and women in and out of the criminal justice system." 

The challenge marks 10 years of Sleepouts for Lianne since setting up Helping Hands Community Project in 2015, but this time with women – and The Esther Project – very much in her sights. 

And she is no stranger to some of the issues that charity comes into contact with daily. From her own nursing background working with people struggling with mental health issues and addiction, to the years witnessing her mum helping to run a homeless shelter in their home town of Scunthorpe. 

Bianca Rodrigues-Perry will be joining the sleep out Lianne is being joined for the first Sleepout (image by Dave Perry Photography)

It was a personal breakdown and contemplating taking her own life at Leamington Train Station in 2013 that eventually led her to a volunteering role at Leamington Christian Mission, a lifeline that, in turn, sparked a passion for helping other women in need. 

Lianne's experience heading up the Helping Hands Community Project led her to conclude that vulnerable women were not being well served by the mixed gender environment and needed a safer space. 

Her vision was already in sight when she established The Esther Project - a women-only initiative to provide gender-specific support as well as launching The Esther House - a seven-bed supported living accommodation, providing a safe space for women to recover, for up to two years. 

It currently offers supported accommodation and a weekly programme of activities to reduce isolation and improve skills. The ambition is to open a hub, a safe space where women can meet, access key support services and develop new skills for employability alongside an alternative to custody, situated in a rural location for women with more complex needs. 

Lianne said: "Over the years it's been really clear that what we were doing at Helping Hands was never enough for women. When you look at homeless charities, it appears that homelessness is predominantly a male problem. What we're trying to do through the Esther Project is create a facility that women and their families can attend and get all the support around their trauma, mental health and family support in one space. 

"In Esther House we also have a facility which offers safe accommodation for up to six women, so vulnerable women don't end up in a house with men who also have their own trauma. 

"But the bigger dream, within the next 18 months, is to have a 24/7 space that offers provision such as those at some of the places we're off to visit over the 10 days. We're looking at how we can meet all those needs and learn from all these amazing spaces. What's good practice? I want to see what's working for them in the areas of counselling, employability, homelessness and women in and out of the criminal justice system. There's some great projects out there." 

The challenge is also being supported by sponsors Lockwoods Ski & Outdoor, Leamington; RMF, Leamington; The Leader Marketing Partnership, Henley; and Cool Fox Tees, Leamington. 

The event will raise money for Leamington-based The Esther Project, a charity launched in 2023 (image via Dave Perry Photography)

Money raised will fund women's services in Warwickshire including the future hub. To sponsor Lianne visit: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/Her-Fight-Our-Night-10-day-sleepout-across-the-UK 

For Lianne, in particular though, it's a long road ahead. She said: "I'm most nervous about lack of sleep. For the last nine years I emerged from doing a one-night sleepout and vowed 'never again' – and now I am doing ten in a row! 

"But we've got to stop that cycle of abuse. Women caught up in domestic abuse don't dare leave their partner but if they do they end up in poverty and lose their house and that's the trigger for the whole mess they end up in.

"And women are being thrown into overcrowded prisons for stealing a loaf of bread to feed their children, and violent crimes when they should be getting treatment for the pain and trauma they've previously gone through. Why are we not treating women the right way? 

She added: "People think homelessness is a male problem but 60% of people without their own home are women. "Homelessness isn't represented just by the people you see on the streets but it's also about the sofa surfers and the ones who are hiding in their cars. Women work harder not to be seen so they hide away."