An Edinburgh couple rendered homeless after their car was taken off the road have told how they faced vile homophobia after being ‘bounced around’ temporary accommodation.
Carer Jonathan Landau-Letwinski said he and partner Lee Riches were “struggling” before their vehicle - which has since been written off - failed its MOT last year, leaving them unable to make rent payments on their home in Rosyth.
They have since returned to the capital, but have been left stranded in five different types of temporary housing with no kitchen or washing facilities - forcing them to survive on cheese toasties made with tin foil and an iron.
The couple, who both suffer with poor mental health, survived an eviction attempt earlier this week but have been told they face at least a three year wait for a council home with no family to turn to for aid.
But Jonathan said the stress of the situation has left them ‘on edge’ and toiling to meet part-time hours as carers for vulnerable people.
“We were assessed as temporarily homeless last February, but that night we had to sleep in the car because they just had nowhere for us to go,” he recalled.
“Since then we’ve just been bounced around different places. I think this is the fifth different temporary accommodation we’ve been in and it is unsustainable.
“I have an abysmal attendance at work due to not knowing where I’m going to be travelling from.
“We were told on Monday that the council had booked us out but they kind of backtracked because we got in contact with our MSP and Shelter.
“But we are just at our wits’ end at this stage. We just feel trapped by uncertainty.”
Jonathan said conditions in some of the temporary accommodation facilities were “extremely intimidating” with staff often reacting aggressively towards them after discovering they were a couple.
But he also said the lack of social distancing at the start of the pandemic left him concerned for his health and that of the vulnerable people he cares for.
“There were no cooking facilities and no washing machine and at that point everything had started to close down,” he said.
“I was having to wash my work clothes in the shower and my colleagues had started to notice. I was losing weight and I just looked kind of dirty.
“No one in there was social distancing, no one was wearing masks, it was just a shambles and it put me at risk because my job is to care for the elderly and vulnerable.
“But there was homophobia from the staff. They were just from a completely different culture, we felt extremely intimidated, their whole attitude just shifted when they found out we were a couple.
“They would slam doors in our faces, avoid us, it was just horrible to be in.”
Housing chiefs have warned the couple they face a long wait for any kind of local authority accommodation after being given a stay in their current hotel until September 1.
Beyond that date, Jonathan admitted their future was uncertain, especially after the car needed for him to make vital home visits was written off in a collision with another driver.
They have now started a GoFundMe page in the hope of raising some money to live on following a reduction in his working hours.
“They told us we would have to wait up to three years for a council house,” he said.
“I’ve been suicidal over this, we can’t wait that long at this stage.
“I’m surprised I still have a job at the moment, but I’m already working part time hours as it is but they are getting cut more.”
He added: “If we can get any help whatsoever, it could be life changing, but so far we’ve been contacted by a scammer, which is really disheartening.
“Lee is estranged from his family. We have nowhere to turn and I don’t know where we go from here.”
