Preston North End duo hear the stories behind the Big PNE Sleep Out

Two Preston North End Women players say a visit to a Preston support centre has strengthened their commitment to this year’s Big PNE Sleep Out.

Laura Walker and Caitlin Walker visited Foxton Women’s Centre to learn about the help it provides to vulnerable women facing homelessness, crisis and exploitation.

Staff say the service offers safety, food, clothing and support for women who often have nowhere else to turn.

Foxton Chief Executive Cath Coffey explained that the centre supports women with complex needs, including those experiencing crisis, homelessness and street-based sex work.

“This is a place for women who are incredibly vulnerable,” Cath said.

“Some arrive in crisis. Some need safety straight away. Some need food, clean clothes, a shower, medical support or simply someone to listen.”

Open during afternoons and evenings, the centre provides a lifeline at the times many women are most at risk.

Staff are there not only within the building, but out in the community too, supporting women when they need it. Without services like this, Cath says the consequences would be stark.

“It is dangerous on the streets. These women live with fear all the time,” she said.

“That is the reality. This centre gives them somewhere trusted, safe and somewhere they know they won’t be judged.

“It is a site the women know and a site they trust,” Cath added. “For women who have often been let down time and time again, that trust means everything.”

During the visit, Laura and Caitlin had the opportunity to meet women currently being supported by Foxton and hear first-hand how the service has helped them begin to rebuild their lives.

“For me, it has made me want to do the Sleep Out even more,” said Laura, captain of PNEWFC.

“What is happening here is genuinely life changing. You can feel the hope in this place, but you can also feel the pain that so many women have carried before they got here. It is impossible not to be moved by that.”

Caitlin echoed that feeling and stressed just how important fundraising is to keep that support going.

“They need people behind them. A lot of what these women need is not covered in the usual ways. That means Foxton has to fight for funding just to keep providing the basics, the things that can make the difference between someone coping and someone slipping further into crisis.”

Cath explained that while some funding helps cover specific costs, unrestricted support is what allows the charity to respond in real time.

“Unrestricted funds are absolutely vital,” she said.

“They help us provide the things nobody wants to fund – food, clothes, emergency support, extra staff hours – all the things that matter deeply to the women we work with.

“The Big PNE Sleep Out helps us put support exactly where it is needed the most.”

For Laura, one of the most powerful parts of the evening was hearing the truth behind the headlines and stereotypes so often attached to vulnerable women.

“When you hear these stories first hand, you realise how much sits beneath the surface. It reminds you not to judge.

“So often people only see the outside of someone’s situation, but not the trauma, the fear or the circumstances that brought them there. Hearing that first hand really hits you.”

Meeting the women and hearing their experiences in person brought a different level of understanding.

“You can watch something on a screen and feel for people,” Laura added. “But when you sit in a room with them, hear their voices and see the strength it has taken just to survive, it becomes real in a completely different way. It brings it home.”

The Big PNE Sleep Out is about more than spending one night outdoors. It is about standing alongside people whose lives have been shaped by trauma and insecurity and helping ensure that services like Foxton Women’s Centre can continue to be there when they are needed most.

Because for many women, places like Foxton are not simply helpful. They are a lifeline.

If you want to donate towards the Big PNE Sleep Out, you can do so by clicking here.