Sitting on the bed in her tiny top-floor flat on the outskirts of Birmingham, 46-year-old Mechelle holds back tears. “I feel like a freak,” she says while her three-year-old son, Will, sleeps on the bed. “Do you know anyone else in a situation like this?”
Sadly, I do. I know of thousands and thousands of people in similar situations, and that’s why I am here, with Mechelle, interviewing her for my BBC Radio 4 series, Housing Britain.
Mechelle and her children are homeless. I am sitting with Michelle and Sharon, a support worker from the homelessness charity Crisis. This mother of three young children doesn’t know where she will be sleeping overnight, let alone for Christmas.
Vicky Spratt visits temporary accommodation in BirminghamThis tiny flat, where Mechelle’s family’s belongings are packed into bin bags in case they need to move at short notice, is what’s called “temporary accommodation”. It is being provided by Birmingham City Council while they decide whether or not they have a legal duty to provide her and her young children with social housing. If they don’t, she will become homeless again. And, possibly, even be separated from her children.
In England alone, there are now more than 132,000 households – just like Mechelle’s – living in temporary accommodation. This is emergency housing given to people when they become homeless. It can be anything from a flat in a house in multiple occupancy (HMO) to a hostel, B&B, hotel or, even, in some of the worst cases I have seen, converted shipping containers.
There are thought to be more than 172,000 children living in those households. Kids like Will, who has woken up and wants me to play with his sticker book, are growing up in homes that are not suitable for them, exposed to emotional stress and physical instability on a daily basis.
Mechelle was renting a social home in Cornwall and working as a support assistant to children with complex needs, like those of her own son. But over time, Will’s seizures worsened, and it became increasingly difficult for her to go to work and be away from him.
Mechelle is originally from Birmingham, so she decided to give up her rented home in Cornwall and move back to Birmingham to be closer to family so they could help.
Mechelle had a plan: she would stay with family, they could help with childcare, and she would look for work. But, unfortunately, relations soured with her family as everyone was crowded into a small two-bedroom bungalow.
Things became heated, so Mechelle left with her kids. Because she wasn’t working, she couldn’t find anywhere to stay. The council initially wouldn’t help, saying she had made herself “intentionally homeless” by leaving Cornwall. That’s how she ended up sleeping in her car with three young children for a week.
Mechelle went to her local family hub during the day while sleeping in her car, and it was there that support workers stepped in, connecting her with Crisis, who spoke to the council and arranged temporary accommodation.
But that accommodation is less than ideal. Like so much temporary accommodation, it is too small. There is a tiny bathroom containing a shower cubicle and a toilet, which is nowhere near enough space for a family of four to bathe. In the kitchen, cabinet doors are falling off their hinges. However, it is, at least, warm and dry.
The bed where Mechelle and her children sleepWhen we visit Mechelle, it is her 56th day in temporary accommodation. Councils have a lesser obligation to help people they deem to have made themselves “intentionally homeless” and do not automatically have to find them housing. As a result, Birmingham City Council told her they would investigate her case and deliver a decision within eight weeks.
Day 56 was the very end of that period. As lunchtime neared, Mechelle was still waiting to hear from the council. Sharon was refreshing her emails. I tried to call the council’s press office to get an answer to no avail.
Mechelle said the uncertainty was tearing her apart. Soon, she would have to pick the older children up from school. Looking at Sharon, she asked if she should keep all of their belongings in bin bags? Probably a good idea, Sharon said.
After I had boarded a train back to London, I heard from Birmingham City Council that Mechelle could stay put. They would be continuing to review her case. However, as Christmas approaches, she still doesn’t know what the future holds for her. Mechelle is still waiting for a decision.
Birmingham City Council, like so many local authorities, is under immense pressure because of rising homelessness amongst families in particular. Birmingham has around 24,000 households on its social housing waiting list and spends nearly £52m on temporary accommodation a year. The total yearly spend for English councils on temporary accommodation is now £1.7bn a year.
Following my visit with Mechelle, I interviewed Nicky Brennan, the cabinet member for housing and homelessness at Birmingham City Council. She apologised for the fact that nobody had communicated with Mechelle and said the council was looking into her case carefully.
“The demand in Birmingham at the moment is unprecedented,” Brennan told me for Radio 4. “We do have staff that work really, really hard with families.”
Mechelle’s story demonstrates how easily someone can slip into homelessness. It also, sadly, shows how quickly a family can fall through the gaps in overstretched public services, causing their situation to go from bad to worse.
Despite the shame and stigma, far from making her a “freak”, Mechelle’s story is depressingly common. Lower-income families are increasingly priced out of private renting, and social housing is in short supply, so homelessness is rising.
The Government announced its long-awaited homelessness strategy this month. In it, it said it wanted to reduce the number of families living in temporary accommodation. However, homelessness charities, including Crisis, warned that without significant funding or a rise in the number of social homes available, this wouldn’t be possible.
Crisis has also warned that the number of people who become homeless while fleeing domestic violence is rising. In their strategy, the Government also committed to preventing homelessness among survivors of domestic abuse by making it easier for councils to support those in need through consolidating funding to improve access to support and safe accommodation.
Yet, research from Crisis and Heriot-Watt University’s England Monitor shows that local authorities are seeing unprecedented demand from survivors, with nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of councils across England seeing an increase in demand for homelessness support from this group. Over half (55 per cent) of councils are expecting a further increase over the coming year.
The bathroom where Mechelle and her three children have to get ready each dayThat’s a huge increase in demand for help. Across England, 1.3 million households are waiting for social housing. Some of them have already been waiting for years.
If Crisis hadn’t stepped in, would Mechelle ever have managed to complete a homelessness application without a fixed home and with no proper internet access? Possibly not.
If I hadn’t chased up Birmingham City Council, would Mechelle have gained clarity? We’ll never know.
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In 2025, it’s hardly reassuring that a charity which relies on fundraising to operate is filling in the gaps left by the state.
Mechelle and her children can only wait now. Wait to find out whether they will get support. Wait to find out if they will have to move again. Wait to find out if they’ll be able to stay together. It’s a situation no family should be in.
Episode Three of Housing Britain aired on BBC Radio 4 at 11am 22 December. You can listen here as well as on BBC Sounds.
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