Damp seeping up the walls, old mattresses piled high in the back garden and the stench of sewage.
This dingy hostel is no place for anyone to live, let alone a mother due to give birth to her first child.
The hostel in London was where homeless mum Sam was placed into by a council just days before giving birth to baby Elijah in September.
But she’s sadly one of many. A ground breaking survey has revealed that 99.7% of midwifes have seen mothers who were homeless over the past six months, with thousands of children being born into poverty.
Sam helped to shine a spotlight on the crisis by going undercover for Channel 4 Dispatches during her plight.
The 31-year-old and her husband Rahul, 25, claim they were evicted from their shared flat in London and left homeless in the summer when the landlord found out she was pregnant.
They were placed in a hostel by Lambeth Council, where the family had just one room to themselves and shared a “dirty” kitchen and bathroom with other families.
“I was made homeless just days before my baby was due,” Sam says.
“The law says councils must work quickly and pro actively to agree a personalised housing plan and find suitable housing for vulnerable people threatened with homelessness. But none of that has happened in my case.
“I was put in a hostel where you could smell sewage, it had mice, there were old dirty mattresses piled up out the back - not even in a bin. Just on their own. We had to share the bathroom with other families - my husband thinks there were up to 30 of us all sharing.
“I never thought this would happen to me. I had a good upbringing, I have a good education, I have a masters degree. Homelessness can happen to anyone.
“I’m sharing my story because there’s an ongoing housing crisis in this country and I want people to know how it’s affecting ordinary mums like me.”
Homelessness is rising in the UK, but no-one knows how many women are pregnant and homeless.
But frontline maternity staff, according to the report by Channel 4 Dispatches and the Royal College of Midwives, suggest that cuts to benefits, changes in the welfare system, and widespread issues with suitable housing in many areas of the UK are disproportionate affecting pregnant women.
The survey of midwives from across the UK found two thirds say more pregnant women are facing homelessness than ever before. And shockingly, 97% of midwives had seen at least one pregnant woman sharing over-crowded or otherwise unsuitable accommodation.
To expose the reality of what homeless women face, Sam went undercover and recorded her appointment with a placement officer at Lambeth council.
She was told by the officer they can put her in a hostel.
When she asked if it’s suitable for a mother and newborn, he said: “It will be suitable, we do place mothers and children in there.”
When she asked how long she’ll be there for, he said he didn’t know.
She asked again and he snapped: “You’ve asked me that already. I said you could be in there as long as you are in there. I’m not going to change it over now, I’ve placed you.”
Left with no alternative, Sam moved into the cramped hostel room.
“I know they’ve got a lot of people to deal with,” she says.
“But I do believe they could do more to help. I feel like they don’t care. I’m not looking for a five star place or anything. Just somewhere secure and safe.”
The accommodation was so bad Sam refused to stay there after three nights and says she was moved into a new hostel.
Days later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Elijah, and after a month was moved into a more suitable council flat.
But Sam was one of the lucky ones and she questions whether she would’ve been placed in a one-bed flat if it wasn’t for being featured on Dispatches.
“I do wonder if having Dispatches following me around helped,” Sam says.
A Lambeth council spokesman said: “Sam was helped by the council in securing suitable hostel accommodation for three nights before being quickly moved to a council owned self-contained unit. The council then helped her secure a flat of her own on secure two-year lease.
“She was housed by the council before she became homeless, was in communication with the council throughout and a significant amount of time and effort was put into supporting her. An appointment with a housing officer was offered the day after she first contacted the council.
“We will now review her case to see if there are any lessons to be learnt.
“Despite the huge strain on affordable housing, and sustained cuts to council funding, we are proud of having a very good homeless prevention service, which helps hundreds of people a year find suitable homes.”
- Born Homeless: Channel 4 Dispatches, is on tonight at 8pm
