Woman who lives in a Wendy house
APRIL, 27, SAYS IF SHE DIDN’T LIVE IN SHED SHE’D BE ON STREETS – BUT COUNCIL DISPUTES HER CLAIM IT’S NOT DOING ENOUGH TO HELP
APRIL Fillingham never imagined she would have to make the choice between sleeping on the streets or living in a Wendy house.
Yet the tiny wooden shed at the end of her mother’s garden is now her home.
The 27-year-old says it’s the best option she has until a suitable council property becomes available.
“I either sleep here or in a doorway,” says April, perched on the edge of a mattress crammed into the damp children’s playhouse.
April, who has previously lived in shared, private accommodation, has been sleeping in the Wendy house in Hindley, Wigan, for six months.
April claims the council has not done enough to help her get out of the desperate situation. Housing bosses say April’s three previous council tenancies ended ‘due to anti-social behaviour,’ and that she has refused help from the town hall’s homeless team.
With April and the council at odds, she says she fears what was supposed to be a temporary measure is now looking increasingly long-term.
She and her mum Debbie, 55, are close. But April says living under one roof small home is not an option for them. They keep different hours and Debbie’s home is not big enough for two. In the spring, they decided it would be best if April slept in the shed. Measuring only 6ft by 6ft 4ins, it has become a makeshift bedroom. A foam mattress and duvets take up all of the floor space and a television covers one of the side ‘walls.’
“It’s the only space I have got to call my own,” says April. “It’s the space where I don’t feel like I’m in anyone’s way. Where I don’t feel like I have to make conversation to be polite because I am in someone else’s home. I need this little bit of space to myself.”
All April wants, she says, is a ‘normal’ life and place to call her own.
She loves animals, playing guitar and cooking. She says her life is on hold until she finds somewhere to live. “It does embarrass me,” she says. “It’s not like having a proper life. We all want normal things, like love and living on our own. I can’t have a relationship while I’m living like this.”
April says her difficulties finding a permanent home go back many years.
She says she had a difficult childhood and that she has long-term mental health problems. She is also a selfconfessed cannabis user.
April said her relationship with her mother broke down as a teenager. She moved out, spent a year in care and had various spells in supported accommodation for vulnerable young adults. She never finished school and ended up working in a tattoo shop as a piercist, a job she can no longer do because of health issues.
She claims to have suffered discrimination and abuse all her adult life. “People think that because you have tattoos and piercings, or different hair they can just come up to you and touch you,” she says. “I have been discriminated against all my life because I’m different. Hostels or shared accommodation are not safe places for someone like me.” April admits she has made mistakes – she fell into rent arrears in private rented accommodation, and struggled to get out of debt. When April started living in the shed six months ago, Wigan council said she did approach them for a homelessness assessment. They say the amount of money April receives for housing in her benefits is not enough to pay for her preference of a one-bedroom flat near her ‘support network’ of her mum, nan and friends in Hindley. Instead, she should consider a shared house in the private rented sector, the council said, adding that its ‘bond scheme’ would be able to help assist with the financial requirements, such as a deposit.
Joanne Willmott, assistant director of provider management and market development, said: “We are committed to helping individuals into stable accommodation and working with our partners to ensure people receive the right support. Unfortunately, April has had three previous council tenancies which have all ended due to anti-social behaviour. As a responsible council we have a duty to protect other residents. We have made an offer of temporary accommodation and are also providing ongoing advice and support whilst we work together to achieve a more permanent and stable tenancy.”