Gemma has two sons and works in a specialized profession. She has been living in temporary accommodation with her youngest son for nearly a year and a half. After leaving a controlling relationship, Gemma and her children initially stayed with a family member. However, it was too overcrowded and Gemma was led to believe she would be better off in temporary accommodation. Sadly though, when Gemma moved into her temporary accommodation placement, she said it was in a terrible state,
“The house was horrendous, it was filthy dirty and covered in damp. I paid to have the carpet cleaned as it was disgusting. It was unsettling for my child to take him to this property. It had curtains but they were covered in mildew and damp”
Gemma’s younger son had a health condition that was aggravated by the poor condition of the accommodation, so she spent money and effort on making the accommodation clean and personal.
Due to the unsuitability of the temporary accommodation placement, Gemma’s older son can only stay with Gemma for a few nights of the week. Gemma and her younger son have found this disruption to their family unit really difficult,
“We don’t see my eldest as much. He spends more time with his dad as his dad has more space. My youngest would cry for his brother and miss him.”
Gemma was keen to move out of temporary accommodation and into more suitable housing. However, the local authority made several attempts to move Gemma to areas where her family would either be at risk or where they would have had to leave school or work. Gemma said that it was a huge battle to prevent the local authority moving them to an unsuitable property and that this instability impacted her mental health,
“With myself, trying to protect my children and not show the situation we are in, I was constantly on alert. If the phone went, I didn’t want to answer it. What if they put me somewhere I can’t go? Are they going to put me out on the street? I ended up on medication. I don’t know how I’m still sane. I’m just lucky, I’ve had people supporting me. I’ve had days where I don’t want to get up or go to work. It’s had a big impact”
Living in temporary accommodation also had a significant impact on Gemma’s younger child,
“I just went to the doctors because his school have picked up that he’s becoming so anxious. Something that is trivial is making him upset. He fainted. School said he is bordering on having anxiety attacks … it’s definitely starting to take its toll. He’s so anxious, he’s fainting. He’s really clingy. Constantly worried where I am and what I am doing”.
Gemma and her son found it difficult to live a normal life in temporary accommodation.
“Having friends over for tea is not the same, it’s not home. We can’t make it home because it’s not home. Even Christmas, it’s not the same, we had the tiniest of trees … we don’t want to be here for another Christmas”
Sadly stories like Gemma’s are far from unique, with 2,500 children currently growing up in temporary accommodation. We can, and must, do better.
