IMMACULATELY presented, with a PhD to her name and a top job in the UK fire service, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton cuts an impressive figure.
So it is hard to believe the 41-year-old who, as Chief Fire Officer at West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, is one of the country’s most senior female fighters, once slept rough in doorways and sold the Big Issue.
But in a complete reversal of fortunes, Sabrina now advises Prince William on the issue of homelessness as an advocate for his Homewards project — part of his Royal Foundation.
William established Homewards in 2023, a five-year project aimed at ending homelessness by uniting businesses, local authorities, charities and others in six locations across the UK.
Sabrina is keen to shine a light on the often hidden issue of female homelessness to mark International Women’s Day today.
As a teen Sabrina found herself sleeping rough in Newport.
She said: “I grew up in a single-parent household and, after the death of my father, we lived in poverty at a really difficult time.
“My mother struggled with her mental health and by the time I was 15 I started sleeping rough.
‘Exposed, vulnerable’
“I slept in shop doorways, in the porch of derelict churches, anywhere.
“I sold the Big Issue and I had a dog called Menace.
“He wasn’t a big dog or fierce, but he was everything.
“He was my only social and emotional connection.
“I was otherwise completely isolated.
“Being on the streets is exhausting.
“You don’t just feel unsafe, you are unsafe.
“I experienced considerable violence, too.
“People would just kick you in the ribs when you were asleep.
“Women are so exposed and vulnerable when they’re rough sleeping.”
Despite her challenging circumstances, Sabrina continued to study while living on the street.
By selling the Big Issue she earned enough to move into rented housing and, at 18 years old, became a part-time firefighter.
Sabrina, who is now married with a daughter, took a degree with the Open University before completing a PhD at Cardiff University.
She took the top job at the coastal county of West Sussex in 2019 and was awarded the King’s Fire Service Medal for distinguished service and gallantry.
Last year, Sabrina joined Prince William on a visit to a Homewards project in Newport, South Wales, which focuses on female homelessness.
It took me a long time to have the courage to talk about my experience because it was painful
Sabrina Cohen-Hatton
She said: “It took me a long time to have the courage to talk about my experience because it was painful.
“It felt like someone I didn’t want to be.
“There’s still a lot of shame that you feel, which is why the work the Prince is doing is so game-changing.
“His initiative means more people will be able to talk about what they have been through — it will help to reduce the stigma.”
She adds: “We need more tailored and specialised support that helps to catch women before they experience homelessness.”
Ahead of international Women’s Day, The Sun visited the Newport Homewards project to meet the women it has helped.
Laughing and chatting, Becky May, 32, and Chelsie Robinson, 27, sketch out a mural design for the streets they used to live on, featuring words such as Survival, Unity and Strength.
We need more Beckys in the world. You have been through more things than people go through in their entire lifetimes
Prince William
It is hard to imagine that not so long ago both women were at rock bottom — homeless with their lives spiralling out of control.
As a teenager, Becky would sometimes sleep rough at bus stops, mixing her antidepressant medication with alcohol.
She told The Sun: “It was about getting through the day.
“I was sexually assaulted, I was raped, I thought there was no hope.
“It was about numbing everything.”
She was placed into care aged 11 and, after leaving foster care at 16, she ended up sleeping rough.
She first came across the Women In Newport group, part of the Homewards coalition, on Facebook through a friend, and met Prince William when he visited the centre before Christmas.
“You seem like a force of nature,” he told her on hearing her story.
“We need more Beckys in the world.
“You have been through more things than people go through in their entire lifetimes.
“You have done amazingly well.
“I’m not sure I would come out the other side like you.”
The Homewards programme, which aims to demonstrate it is possible to end homelessness, works in six locations including Bournemouth, Aberdeen and Lambeth in South London.
Helen Roper, Homewards local delivery lead in Newport, says that Becky’s story is all too familiar.
She says: “Homeless women aren’t seen.
“They don’t sleep rough in the same way.
“They wander the streets or try to hide in places such as A&E waiting rooms all night.
“They don’t get counted.
“There isn’t the recognition of the need for services for them.”
Government reports show 15 per cent of people sleeping rough are women. But estimates suggest there could be around nine times more than official figures suggest.
Becky adds: “I was just a lost kid when I ended up without anywhere to go.
“I blamed myself.
“I wouldn’t change my experiences because they have made me who I am, but my life has left me feeling like I’m never good enough.
“I want to speak publicly about my experience and what happened to me.
“I want my voice to be heard.”
TURMOIL AFTER MY MUM DIED
OPERA singer Chelsie Robinson is trying to turn her traumatic experience of life on the streets into a positive.
While living in temporary accommodation, the former special needs worker and graduate is writing an opera about her struggle.
With her perfect make-up and bubbly personality, she reveals how she became homeless after falling into depression and losing her job when her mother died in 2021.
She says: “I went from having a job, a relationship and a home to having nothing.
“I lost my mum and the bottom fell out of my world.
“I just fell into the deepest depression.
“I lost my house a week before Christmas in 2021.
“I sofa-surfed, lived with my sister and I was put up in a Holiday Inn while waiting for accommodation.”
While Chelsie is now in temporary accommodation, she is desperate to secure a flat so she can start to rebuild her life.
She says: “Since moving to where I am, other people have moved in and have made it difficult for me to sleep and live there.
“I’ve got depression and anxiety and some of the women I live with are going through really hard issues, which is very triggering for me.
“There’s drugs in the building and the police come round.
“It’s sad because I don’t know what I can do to help the other women, because I don’t think they are ready for help yet.
“I know it’s not good for me but I have no choice.”