Lolo, 23, was referred to Centrepoint support by her social worker following a year of sofa surfing. She was struggling to find somewhere affordable and appropriate for her and her one-year-old and was just about to give birth to her second child. She is now settled into her new home with both of her children and is excited for them to grow together as a family.
Not getting the right support
Lolo, 23, came to Centrepoint after her social worker referred her for support with getting into the rental market. She had been in care and was supported by her care leaver team but for the last year she had found her and her one-year-old child sofa surfing, whilst also being heavily pregnant with her second child.
After leaving care, Lolo said that she struggled to settle into the adult world and didn’t feel like she had been equipped with the right skills for independent living. “It’s been difficult to do jobs and everything because we weren’t taught what to do and we had a lot of rules, and we weren’t able to do certain things.”
After finding herself homeless, she went to the council for support as a young parent with a small child and another on the way but was told that she was not a priority as she wasn’t living on the streets. “I was pregnant and with a one-year-old and a care leaver, but I still didn’t get priority support because I wasn’t living on the streets”.
Lolo was incredibly frustrated and upset by the lack support she was getting from her local housing authority and didn’t know where her and her, soon to be, two children would be able to live. She repeatedly called them to try and get updates on where she might be housed but they gave her very little information and she found herself constantly being pushed down the list. She felt ignored and dismissed despite her growing need for support.
“I wasn’t getting a lot of support to start through my council, and they were actually quite rude to me. The worst thing was that they gave me a lot of false hope. They knew that I needed somewhere because I was pregnant, but they were just ignoring my calls and said they would call me back that week. It ended up being three weeks and I was calling repeatedly and not getting anywhere".
“I was just getting pushed down the list because I wasn’t living on the street even though I was a priority. It was just awful, and they knew it was important. They just weren’t really taking notice or doing anything”.
Finding out about Centrepoint
After struggling to get the support she needed from her local authority, her social worker referred her to Centrepoint’s Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The scheme offers support to young people struggling to get into the private rental market. For Lolo, the scheme helped to find appropriate housing and to pay for the deposit on her new flat, something at that time she couldn’t do without support.
“When my social worker mentioned that they would be able to pay the first rent and deposit, because I was pregnant and with a one-year-old, it helped me out a lot because the money that I was saving I really needed to use to get everything ready for the baby. I was so grateful for that, because otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to have a place right now. I just wouldn’t have been able to afford it at all”.
Alongside paying for the deposit of the flat for Lolo and her family, her key worker, Patrick, also conducted checks on the properties to make sure that they were safe and appropriate for her to move into. This included checking the gas and electric were safe and in good condition and making sure that the landlord was legitimate and would stick to the agreement in place.
“Having Centrepoint has helped me because I haven’t had a lot of experience doing my own stuff. I’ve been taught a lot of stuff that probably could have helped before”.
Before they found her new flat, they visited a couple of other properties but as they didn’t have the correct checks, they decided against moving into these, even with Lolo’s due date quickly approaching. However, Lolo was grateful that Patrick was clear and open with her about her options and why places might not be right for her.
“Centrepoint helped with all the checks and stuff, and they did the checks for the place I was moving into. We checked two other places before my flat, but they were a bit sketchy. He said he was sorry as he knew were trying to do it as quickly as possible, but I said I didn’t want to be going into something that’s sketchy and then it is backfiring, especially when I’ve got kids. I’m really glad that finally someone was being honest with me because no one else has been”.
However, before too long, they were able to find a three-bedroom flat which was suitable for her and her young family.
Getting settled as a family
Lolo had just moved into her flat and was a few weeks away from giving birth to her second child. She was excitedly prepping the house to be ready for their arrival and making sure that her children had what they needed around them.
“I’ve been really busy, and I’ve finally sorted the bedrooms out this week. I’m at my nesting stage and my brain’s like, we need to get this sorted. My head’s just been all about getting stuff sorted right now”.
Lolo was also preparing to go from one child to two, something that felt daunting, especially doing it on her own. “I’ve done this all alone and it’s going to be different with another child. It’s not all the same and I’ve done it all alone, sort of learning as I go”. Luckily, her new accommodation is close by to some family which meant that she had support around her, if she needed it.
When thinking about the future, Lolo said she preferred to stay in the present and think about what was happening now. “My main goal was sorting a place out and now I’ve got a place and getting everything sorted for the arrival. My main focus now is making my children as happy as they can be and that we’ve got a safe place to live. Get ready for the arrival and then take it day by day”.
Lolo has shown such dedication, love and care for her children in making sure that they have somewhere safe to live and we’re so pleased that they are all happy and healthy in their new flat. We wish them all the best with their onward journey.
Make a donation
With your support, we can help more young people like Lolo move into a safe space to their raise their family.
