Katey-Jo Pilling, a Peer Researcher with Shelter Cymru, has been working with the Bevan Foundation and Shelter Cymru on research into people’s experiences in temporary accommodation in Wales. A version of this article was first published in the Bevan Foundation’s Exchange magazine.
As a peer researcher, my colleagues and I take from our own lived experience of homelessness and the housing crisis. Because we understand, through experience, we can ask the questions other people may not think of and we can empathise with the participants in a way that can produce more detailed results. We see the research through different eyes and may spot something that others do not. By using our own trauma as a base line, we can see situations in a more holistic way.
Our small team of peer researchers spent time capturing stories from Shelter Cymru’s casework to provide evidence for the Nowhere to Call Home report. We looked at over 250 cases, a snapshot of Shelter Cymru’s work in the first 6 months of this year.
Each case was unique in terms of the accommodation people were living in and the impact their situation was having on their lives. What united them all was the fact that temporary accommodation was failing people and most had additional support needs such as mental health concerns.
One case that stood out to me was an elderly man, an amputee, who relied upon a wheelchair – I am going to call him Jim. Jim was given a hotel room which should have been perfect for him, it was on the ground floor and an accessible room. What more could he need? Well, the problem was the fire doors – the type which are installed in every hotel, hostel and many other premises. Jim could not open these heavy doors on his own – not the one leading into his room from the hallway or the one into his bathroom from the hotel room itself.
Jim was left unable to leave his room and unable to deal with his bodily needs. He had no help from a carer and no support was put in place to ensure that he could use the bathroom or maintain his dignity. Jim had to wait for a friend to visit him just so he could use the toilet or clean himself. He was also reliant on someone helping him to leave the room to eat – he had no cooking facilities – or just to go out for a breath of fresh air. He said it felt like he had been left to die in that room.
I sometimes use a wheelchair, and I really struggle to open fire doors. I’m relatively young and can’t imagine what it’s like for someone who is older and frailer.
When we then interviewed people who are currently living in temporary accommodation. I remember talking to Jane* and her daughter who were living on a caravan park.
There was mould in the caravan bedrooms due to poor ventilation and insulation, and their health was declining due to asthma. Their mental health, which was already a factor, had become so much worse. They told me of regular occasions where drunk holidaymakers would stumble past the caravan and bang on the windows in the early hours. Vomit and other unpleasant gifts were often left outside their door for them to find in the morning. They felt unsafe and forgotten.
Jane told me that other people had been placed on the holiday park by the local authority, but the caravan owner told them all not to talk about their situation. They were told not to reveal that they were homeless and to act like they were on holiday. But this wasn’t a holiday for them, that this was their reality for an undefined length of time.
For many, the living conditions in temporary accommodation are not just poor, they simply aren’t acceptable. We found evidence of really poor living conditions and people feeling that there was nothing that they could do to improve their situation. There was a lady with diabetes who was not able to eat properly as she had no cooking facilities – ultimately causing her life to be at risk. There was a pregnant woman who was forced to shower at 4am as that was the only time that there was enough hot water in the hotel. We also heard about a family of five who were sharing a room with one double bed and some makeshift beds on the floor for the children – they’d spent months living like this.
Drawing on my own experience I know how great an impact living in temporary accommodation can have on people’s lives. Living in temporary accommodation has had a lasting effect on my own daughter. We were in temporary accommodation for nearly two years when she was a young child. The insecurity of our situation, living with strangers and sharing facilities, led to my daughter developing sleep issues which persist to this day. She is 24 years old now, studying to be a social worker. She’s doing well, but just a few days ago she had to request sleeping aids from her doctor. Since our time in temporary accommodation, she has never been able to sleep properly, she cannot sink into that much needed deep sleep for long enough to be refreshed.
This lasting trauma often affects children that have had to live in temporary accommodation. As adults, we can rationalise and come to terms with the situation, but for a child, this is more difficult. On the outside they look well-adjusted and happy, but underneath the trauma sits, and despite countless therapy sessions, the damage cannot always be undone.
Though it has been over 17 years since we were in temporary accommodation, this research has shown that not much has changed. The poor conditions remain the same but what is getting worse is the growing numbers of people in this situation.
To hear Katey’s reflections in full, you can watch the recording of the report launch online here >
