Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton: “You don’t have to have experienced homelessness to be able to relate to people who are experiencing homelessness”

After leaving home at 15 and school at 16, Dr Cohen-Hatton overcame extreme personal adversity and a period of homelessness and began her career as a firefighter. At night school, she studied for a degree in psychology, a master’s in international fire service development and a PhD in behavioural neuroscience. Her publications include her 2019 book, Heat Of The Moment, and her 2023 book, The Gender Bias, which exposes the barriers that hold women back and suggests how to break them.

As a chief fire officer, she has attained the highest rank possible in the UK. Her operational experience includes leading the fire service response to major incidents such as the London Bridge terror attack, the Finsbury Park terror attack and the aftermath of Grenfell. In 2023, Dr Cohen-Hatton was appointed as an advocate for Homewards, and through her role in this initiative, she is focusing on creating systemic change to end homelessness for good.

In the documentary, Dr Cohen-Hatton shares more of her story, talking about the death of her father when she was a young child and the impact this had on her mother and their home environment. “When I was 15, it got too much and I ended up sleeping rough on the streets of Newport, South Wales. I just needed to escape. I can say this with love because I’m from Newport, but it’s not a great city to find yourself in a vulnerable position in. The first night that I was sleeping rough, I remember sitting in a shop doorway and not really knowing what I was doing… I slept out there and I remember thinking to myself: ‘This is really horrible and I’m scared and I feel vulnerable, but it feels better than the environment I was just in.’”

ITV’s We Can End Homelessness: 4 women share their experiences of homelessness and working in the sector