‘I live with my three children in a B&B – I have to share a bed with my son’ ...Middle East

A mum who has been living in a bed and breakfast with her two young children for over five months said she has to share a bed with her son due to the lack of space

*Delina has been living in a B&B in Slough since June this year with her two sons, aged three and seven after being placed there by Ealing Council.

Delina is one of many parents who has or is currently staying in temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs, with her children.

Despite being “unlawful”, recent figures showed there were 2,070 households in England with children at the end of June which had been in B&B accommodation for more than six weeks.

This comes as the Government unveils it’s new child poverty strategy which looks to lift 550,000 children out of poverty through measures such as scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

It will also reportedly end families facing homelessness being placed in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) beyond the current six-week limit.

Son’s commute from B&B to school takes two hours

Delina The i Paper: “It’s very hard. My son goes to school in Ealing, which is very far. It’s difficult for him, it takes him about two hours to get there by bus, as the train is very busy.”

The mum said that while her accommodation has two bedrooms, a lack of space means one must be used as a kitchen, leaving her to share the remaining room with her children.

She said: “We only have one bedroom for me and my two kids. The older one shares a bed with me, and the smaller one sleeps in a cot.”

The mum initially arrived in Glasgow in December 2014 after leaving Eritrea, a year which saw the country being subjected to numerous reports of poor human rights conditions.

“Glasgow didn’t have any jobs. I wanted to work, and I heard London had some jobs so I came to Ealing,” she said.

‘I have been in some terrible homes’

Delina first presented herself as homeless to Ealing Council in London in 2015, adding that she has been placed in three B&Bs in the time since then.

Local authorities have a duty to assist individuals who are facing homelessness, with the law stating families in such situations should only be placed in B&Bs in the case of an emergency and as a temporary measure for less than six weeks.

The mum said: “For over nine years I have been living in the borough of Ealing, but still I can’t get a stable home. I have had to change address eight times. I have been in some terrible homes… It’s a difficult life.”

Ealing Council says on its website that the authority is facing a “severe shortage of housing which is affordable for people on low or moderate incomes”, adding that the same issue was being experienced across the capital.

The authority’s website states: “Council and housing association accommodation is only available to those in the greatest need and even then, it often takes years of waiting before a property becomes available.”

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Delina worked as a cleaner after moving to London but stopped when she became pregnant with her three-year-old son, who has seizures as a result of a head injury.

“He has a problem with his head, they took an MRI scan. He still has future hospital appointments, which are far away from the bed and breakfast,” she said.

The mum said a B&B in Southall, Ealing, that she stayed in previously consisted of just one room for her and her children, with the lack of space causing several issues for the family.

Delina added: “I was boiling water to warm milk [for my youngest] and my elder son pushed the container. He doesn’t have space to play as it’s a very small home.

“He was sitting on the floor and the boiling water was also on the floor. He pushed it and it hit his leg, so he had to go to hospital.”

Newborns being discharged from hospital to B&Bs

Under the new rules, councils would have a legal duty to notify schools, health visitors and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, in an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that is going through Parliament.

Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said the state of temporary accommodation was a reason for the deaths of 74 children in the five years to 2024.

She said that the government would work with the NHS to “end the practice of mothers with newborns being discharged to B&Bs or other forms of unsuitable housing”, adding that it still does “occasionally happen”.

“If that’s still happening by the time I’ve finished my job, I’ll consider myself a failure,” she said.

Ealing Council has been approached for comment.

*Delina asked to use a pseudonym to remain anonymous

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