Claire was just beginning her adult life but she had worked hard and felt that she had everything together. She had her own flat and a skilled job that she was proud of. The COVID pandemic resulted in her losing her job and she had to sign on to Universal Credit to help get by.

The housing allocation in Universal Credit is dependent on your home type and your age. People under 35 are assumed to be able to live in a shared home. They are only entitled to half the estimated rent of a one bed flat (this was roughly £350 when Claire became unemployed). For people like Claire who already live in a one bedroom flat their rent is not fully covered by this small UC payment. This leaves them with a horrible decision where they can remain in their unaffordable home and hope to find work soon or find a room in a shared house and move.

For a young woman like Claire the thought of sharing a home with strangers was very intimidating and with managerial experience she hoped to find work soon. She took the risk and began spending her savings on rent to keep her home. Unfortunately, she ran out of money before finding new work and was illegally evicted during the nationwide freeze on all evictions during the lockdowns. Unfortunately she did not know her rights and did not try to challenge her landlords eviction.

Claire came to us when she had lost her home, most of her possessions and was living under a bridge. She did not have a family capable of supporting her at this time. She was slipping through the cracks of the support services in Manchester unable to get help with housing and unknown to many services.

Many women on our streets choose to spend the night hiding in quiet isolated areas when on the streets for their safety. The stretched council outreach services rarely have the capacity to visit these out of the way areas meaning the people choosing to stay there are not seen. Until you are verified as a rough sleeper by a council outreach team you are not entitled to council homelessness support. This way many women are not given the support they are entitled to.

Claire was on the streets for a few months. She miraculously avoided a major mental health decline, which is very common in people who are rough sleeping. Whilst she struggled, the trauma of rough sleeping was not negatively affecting her decision making.

Claire came to us just for a shower and some advice, but we immediately offered her a place in one of our Barnabus homes. She did not need the care provided in our supported accommodation, she needed affordable rent.

The Barnabus homes we manage are designed to provide affordable housing, even for those on the lowest incomes. We pay the lease and insurance and the residents can have a social rent that they can afford. This allows people like Claire to get back on their feet in an affordable high quality home.

We helped Claire to find work and she has excelled in that job. She took on all the training available and her work ethic was impeccable. She is now a team leader there.

Claire is doing great, she is living independently again, she is financially stable, she is planning for the future, she has a new boyfriend and she recently saved up and went on a holiday. It is a great shame that she ended up on our streets when all she needed was an affordable rent. We are very proud of her and are glad that our homes provided her the help she needed.

Do you want to help people like Claire escape the cycle of homelessness?

Support Our Easter Appeal Today

*name changed to protect our friends identity