Pregnant, homeless and desperately unhappy - that was the reality for one mum evicted from her rented home just months before the birth of her baby.
With two children and another on the way Lauren, who has asked us not to disclose her identity, was forced into B&B accommodation after being evicted by her private landlord.
The stress of the situation eventually landed her in hospital.
When she finally gave birth in May, Lauren was moved into emergency accommodation, but has struggled to find a permanent home after being initially deemed ‘intentionally homeless’.
She spent Christmas in a cramped flat with her partner and three young children after a year she describes as a ‘nightmare’.
The brave mum shared her heartbreaking story after Shelter revealed that 128,000 children in the UK are homeless and living in temporary accommodation - the highest number in a decade.
“This has destroyed us,” Lauren said.
“To go through it and come out still fighting for your children is tough. Every day feels like a lifetime.
“I thought I would have my own house by now.”
Care worker Lauren, who suffers from anxiety and depression, said her mental health would have collapsed without Shelter’s help.
She turned to the charity after struggling to find permanent accommodation.
Since then she and her partner have been offered a three-bedroom house.
The M.E.N recently revealed that there are currently hundreds of homeless children living in Manchester’s bed and breakfasts, hostels and other emergency housing.
Analysis of government figures showed 1,762 children were living with their parents in temporary accommodation at the end of June, largely in bed and breakfasts and hostels, after tipping into homelessness.
One of the most common reasons for their homelessness, according to the figures, was eviction from private shorthold tenancies.
Lauren, 24, was evicted from her house in south Manchester last February.
She was six months pregnant and two days into a new job as a carer when her landlord left her a voicemail message informing her that she had just nine days to leave. The shock landed Lauren in hospital with stress.
“I felt sick,” she says. “I was numb. I had to be sent home from work. The following day I went into work and they had to call an ambulance. I thought I had gone into premature labour because of the stress.”
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Homelessness
On the day of her eviction Lauren and her two children, who are both under five, presented themselves to the council as homeless. They were placed in temporary B&B accommodation where the family were forced to live together in one room.
Lauren said: “My partner was allowed to stay three nights a week. We had two double beds but we weren’t allowed a fridge or a microwave. I would wake up early and go to my mum’s to feed the children. It was horrible. It was clean but very basic and just too cramped for us.”
After two weeks Lauren and her children were moved to a self-contained flat where they have been living since March.
“People say ‘at least you have a roof over your head’ but it’s so hard,” she says. “I have not given up because of my children but it’s been very hard.
“My son has been late to school a lot because we’ve had to travel in on the bus every day from another part of the city. He hates it here. We have noticed problems with his behaviour and he’s even had bald patches because of the stress.
“It’s so hard - especially when none of us want to be here. I would not wish it on my worst enemy.
“Anyone in this position should talk to Shelter. They didn’t give up on me and they believed in us.”
A Manchester City Council spokesman said: “Throughout this period, with the exception of an initial two and a half weeks in emergency accommodation, this mother and her children have been accommodated in a self-contained flat - not a hostel or other shared accommodation - with access to 24-hour support if required.
“This is a complex case but the family have been allocated a property with a registered social housing provider which they will be able to move into shortly. While we understand and sympathise with her frustration, a resolution is very much in sight.”
Shelter is now calling on the public to help fund its frontline advisers.
Chief executive Polly Neate described the crisis as a ‘national scandal’ and added: “Imagine living in a noisy strange place full of people you don’t know, and waking up exhausted from having no choice but to share a bed with your siblings or parents.
“That’s why our frontline advisers will continue to work tirelessly to help more families fighting homelessness. But we can’t do this alone.”
Homeless families living in a single room were interviewed by Shelter to reveal the true scale of the homelessness crisis.
Many said their children’s mental and physical health had been badly affected by homelessness with one mum revealing that her daughter had become suicidal since living in a hostel.
Children spoke about feeling anxious, afraid and ashamed and several described school as a respite. One boy said school was the only place he felt happy.
Youngsters also talked about their school work suffering because of long journeys to school each day, poor and broken sleep, and having no space or quiet-time to do their homework.
More than a third of parents had to share a bed with their children, while half shared bathrooms - often with filthy conditions and unlockable doors.
A quarter of those interviewed had no access to a kitchen and ate either on the bed or the floor.
In England, where the highest number of families are placed into B&Bs, 45 per cent stay beyond the six-week legal limit.
To support Shelter please visit www.shelter.org.uk or text SHELTER to 70080 to donate £3. You can contact Shelter Manchester on 0344 515 1640 or drop into the advice centre at 5 Samuel Ogden Street, Manchester, M1 7AX.
The M.E.N. has pledged to support and publicise the Manchester Homelessness Charter at appropriate opportunities. If you are affected by issues surrounding homelessness in any way, or if you want to do something to help, click here .
