MEDIA personality, businesswoman, and activist Heather Mills has opened Harp’s new women’s hostel in Southend.

White Heather House has 20 en-suite rooms for single homeless women.

Around 25 per cent of the people that Harp support are women and they can often have a very different journey to their male counterparts.

Many women who have to resort to sleeping rough report experiencing abuse of some kind and this will often lead them to staying in abusive relationships, sofa surfing or finding other ways to avoid homelessness.

Shockingly, the average life expectancy of a woman rough sleeping is 43.

Gill Garwood, chief executive at Harp, said: “The introduction of this single gender environment will allow us to provide a less intimidating entry point to homelessness services for women and all in a supportive and understanding environment.

“It will improve and broaden the support available to empower women to make positive change and provide peer support for women that are also feeling lonely and isolated as a result of their circumstances.

“Although it is still early days, the outcomes are already looking very promising, with 33 per cent more women achieving a positive outcome compared to women in our mixed gender hostels in the first six months of the hostel opening.”

Heather Mills, star of Dancing with the Stars, had a troubled childhood and went through a period of homelessness herself, so she was more than happy to take time from her busy schedule to officially open White Heather House.

Heather unveiled a plaque which will be situated in the tranquil grounds of the hostel to commemorate the official opening.

She said: “Having experienced homelessness as a teenager I fully appreciate and support the value and necessity of Harp’s essential work.”

Harp have been supporting homeless people in Southend for more than 15 years and not only provide emergency support such as food and housing, but also encourage all service users to access a variety of support networks, that, collectively, help people to regain independence.

Lauren Collin, Harp women’s hostel coordinator said: “It is our holistic approach to tackling homelessness that empowers the people we work with to overcome their personal barriers and successfully move on armed with the tools necessary to live a full and positive future.”