And so begins the next step for my family. I have been vague about this situation in the past, because it is not only incredibly painful and embarrassing, but because I never had anything concrete to share. Basically, our flat was not suitable for a newborn (no hot water for the last 2.5 years, flooded foundations caused severe mould - think entire black walls - and the doors and windows were rotting and growing mushrooms to name but a few things) and, after the council spending the first half of my pregnancy saying "you'll be fine, just deal with it", we finally had a visit from EHO. The property was condemned immediately, I was told that a health visitor would involve social services if they saw me raising a baby in those conditions and that it was disgusting the council had ignored me for so much of my pregnancy and waited until the last minute (once we'd involved our local MP, funny enough) to actually do anything about it.
And so we needed a new house. Private rentals in my area are extortionate and we discovered pretty quickly that leaving that hellhole might be the best decision for the health of our family, but that it would render us homeless. After a LOT of persuasion, the council agreed to help us with some temporary accommodation. We have been placed in a guest house just outside of our county, where we will now live for the next 10 - 12 months - that is how long the waiting list for a house is if you are an urgent priority case in this area.
The guest house itself is lovely. It's in a nice area, the beds (we have two singles pushed together!) are comfy and there is room at the end of my bed for a moses basket. We have a TV in our room, a shared bathroom with a lovely bath and shower, and access to a shared kitchen. The other residents have children too, and it seems like everyone is very caring and supportive of eachother. I'm a pretty shy/awkward person but have pushed myself to be chatty with the girls (who seem to be about my age) and they've all been lovely to me.
No, it isn't ideal. It isn't where a mother is supposed to take home her newborn. I still feel bitter to mothers who tell me it's not that bad, he won't remember, all they need is food and warmth etc - because none of them would choose it for their children in a million years, and they have no idea how lucky they are to be able to throw out such hollow sentiments without having to live through the situation themselves. But it's okay. It's warm and dry and it is the first step on the path towards a home for my son. It's what I need to do. So we'll cope. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment