Ariana, 5; Miruna, 6; Silvana, 9; Elena, 34 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Ariana, 5; Miruna, 6; Silvana, 9; Elena, 34
‘Where I used to live, the agent is coming to get the money from me but is never giving to the landlord. And then, the landlord, after I think six months, is coming, and then he's given to me three days to evacuate the house. Then, they put me into temporary accommodation, and I am in here for nearly two years. There has been a delay for being able to apply for social housing because the landlord where I used to live before here, he's saying, I owe him £3000 and something. And I said to him, “No, I owe you two months’ rent. That's it.” Then, the council has been helping me to pay this debt, and it's been clearing, but for two years I've been waiting to clear all the debts.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Jacob, 16 months; Aria, 35 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Jacob, 16 months; Aria, 35
‘My maternity ended and I couldn't afford rent. They put us in accommodation that wasn't very suitable. If it was me that put my son in that accommodation, they would raise the safeguarding themselves. I didn't have access to a stove, so the only thing that I could give him was baby porridge. I know as parents you don't have to compare, but when you look at other children, they're able to eat like proper meals and things like that, because, you know, the weaning stage, my son didn't get to have that. He’s had infection after infection. Since we've moved after the hotels, I've been to A&E just under 15 times. But you are okay with my son sleeping in there. Just because he's homeless doesn't make him any less of a human being.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Ali, 8; Maryam, 39; Rizwan, 6 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Ali, 8; Maryam, 39; Rizwan, 6
‘I left my husband's house last year, and then I had no help. I paid about half of my benefit, which I was getting that time, on transport. There was no kitchen facility. I asked them, and the ladies who were living there, they asked, if we could get our own microwave and use it in the hotel, so we could warm up our food. Because, if we buy from the takeaway in the morning, if we buy for dinner as well, we could warm it up in the room. But they said, “No. You can't use the microwave. You can't use the toaster.” For health and safety reasons, we were not allowed to use. I had no choice, some sandwiches, or biscuits, cakes. That's it.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Igor, 8; Maja, 40; Radek, 17 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Igor, 8; Maja, 40; Radek, 17
‘I fled from domestic abuse. And, after one month, I came into the temporary accommodation. Your life is in a mess because of the domestic abuse. You're not thinking straight. Most of us, you know, we don't have access to our money. The guy will not let you spend money. And we came to the refuge with two bags, with nothing. You leave all your stuff behind you… But if you keep that stuff you have to pay for the place where they keep it. It's wrong. They should think about how we are human – not a case, not paperwork – and we suffer.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Lauren, 33 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Lauren, 33
‘I moved in with my ex-partner and that got quite emotionally abusive. Got put into a hotel for a week and then got put into the temporary accommodation where everything went wrong. To me, putting me in that temporary accommodation was like putting me into a hole and giving me a fork, and saying, “Get yourself out.” I couldn't make it a home. You're not allowed to decorate. I couldn't take any of my stuff with me. They said, “You'll probably only be in here for six months, so don't get comfortable. Don't get internet. Don't get anything.” For everyone I know that's been in temporary accommodation, it is not temporary. Once they put you in that temporary accommodation, that's it. You're forgotten about. Regardless of your needs, regardless of your children's needs, you’re left to rot. I wouldn't wish temporary accommodation on anybody. It ruined my life.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Max, 8; Melody, 6; Murphy, 12; Rachelle, 40 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Max, 8; Melody, 6; Murphy, 12; Rachelle, 40
‘Social services got involved. The social worker, she saw what was going on, she saw through the maliciousness of the children's dad, and she did everything she could to help me get out of there. I just felt like I were being stereotyped, you know? Which I have felt a lot in the system, you know? I don't feel like I should have to say, “I've worked 25 years in the NHS”, or “I've done this”, or “I've been there”, or “I've done that.” You should just be treating somebody with that sort of respect regardless of the background. I just felt I was being stereotyped as a single mum with three kids, you know, on benefits, never worked a day in her life, blahdy blahdy blah. That’s how I felt.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Lily-Rose, 3; Rachael, 20 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Lily-Rose, 3; Rachael, 20
‘It was a hotel about half an hour away from everyone that I knew. I was there for six weeks and then they called me one Friday morning and said, “We're moving you.” It was like just a small contained flat sort of thing. It was terrifying, cos I was being sent to this place and you don't get given any information except the address. And when you turn up, you don't know what you're going to find. I'm a student nurse and I had to wash my uniforms. I had to take it to a launderette to wash my uniforms every night, which was costing me money that I didn't have. I worked so hard to get onto that course. I was a young mum. I had my baby at 16. Everybody said, “You won't do it. You won't do it. You won't do it.” And I’m proving everyone wrong.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera

Tessa, 5; Theadora, 3; Sylvi, 42; Niamh, 9; Alexandria, 3 from Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera Tessa, 5; Theadora, 3; Sylvi, 42; Niamh, 9; Alexandria, 3
‘It's not my house so I can't do anything. You can't get help with furniture because it's temporary accommodation. It's just what they give you. The bathroom isn't where it's supposed to be, so it leaks a lot and when you report it to the housing, they come and do cheap jobs to try and patch it up, which doesn't really work cos it's still flooding. It's just the children's school was an hour away. Now they're going to go to a school which is closer. But I was glad that we were quite far away, cos we were put away from the dad. You’re just left in limbo cos you don’t know how long you're going to be there for.’

From Families Living in Temporary Accommodation by Anthony Luvera