Step Into Her Shoes – Help women in Scotland facing adversity take their next steps

Imagine facing trauma, violence, poverty, homelessness, or mental illness – and then being asked to rebuild your life without the right support.

For too many women across Scotland, this is reality – but through Venture Trust’s Next Steps programme, change is possible.

The Next Steps programme provides a safe, supportive space for women, many of whom face challenging life circumstances such as homelessness, substance misuse, gender-based violence, or involvement in the justice system. These complex experiences often impact their wellbeing and relationships, creating barriers to personal growth and stability.

Next Steps offers a safe, trauma-informed programme that helps these women take control of their lives, including a transformative 5-day wilderness journey. The wilderness journey focuses on supporting individuals to develop skills and strategies to cope with their situation at home. Further outreach support back in their local community encourages progression and embedding positive changes.

By accessing greenspaces and the wilderness, individuals experience the grounding benefits of nature, which clears a busy mind and brings feelings of calm and stability for people who regularly experience high levels of stress and chaos at home.

“Step Into Her Shoes” invites you to walk alongside these women – to understand the challenges they face, to recognise their strength, and to help them take their next steps towards safety, stability, and a brighter future.

Your Donation Can Make a Real Difference

£10 – A warm pair of outdoor socks

£30 – A set of lightweight walking poles

£100 – Walking boots or a waterproof jacket

£250 – A complete outdoor kit for one participant

£500 – Sponsor one woman’s full wilderness journey

Why This Matters

Many of the women we work with have spent years being told, directly or indirectly, that they don’t matter, that their voices aren’t important, or that their future is already decided.

Your support sends a different message:

The outdoors is a powerful place to deliver that message. Away from the pressures and dangers of daily life, women can reflect, reconnect with themselves, and see a future they want to move toward.

Thanks to you, that future is now closer than ever.

Be Part of Her Story

The women who join Venture Trust’s Next Steps programme are some of the most resilient people you could ever meet. But resilience doesn’t mean they haven’t struggled – it means they’ve faced extraordinary challenges and kept going, even when the road ahead seemed impossible.

Your donation will allow us to help even more women through our Next Steps programme and provide:

- One-to-one outreach and mentoring to build trust and identify her goals.

- A transformative 5-day wilderness journey, where she can find space, safety, and confidence in Scotland’s great outdoors.

- Post-journey support to put her plans into action back in her community and create lasting change.

The Journey Ahead

The impact of your support won’t end when the wilderness journey is over. The skills, confidence, and trust she builds will help her navigate the challenges ahead, whether that’s finding safe housing, starting education or training, improving her mental wellbeing, or building positive relationships. Your kindness is part of that ongoing journey.

Help us reach more women who need this lifeline. By donating today, you’re not just giving money – you’re walking beside her, step by step, until she can walk tall on her own.

💙 Donate Today