Port Glasgow mum tells of her 'nightmare' housing wait

Letitia Dobben, 41, and her two daughters, aged 10 and 14, were left scrambling last October when their previous accommodation was sold and they were told to move out.

The Port Glasgow mum was able to move in with her aunt as a stopgap but five months later she and her two children and their two dogs are still sharing a single bedroom at her relative’s flat.

Letitia has been seeking help from Inverclyde Council’s homelessness team as well as other local housing providers, but the search for a new house has been fruitless.

She told the Telegraph that the situation is taking a serious toll on her mental and physical wellbeing.  

The Christmas period was a difficult time for the family and Letitia has had to make the tough decision to get rid of some of her children’s much loved toys and possessions due to their emergency living circumstances.

She added: “It’s a nightmare. We were here for Christmas and New Year and one of the girls came home crying one day after school and asked me why Christmas was all different.

“All of our stuff is in storage. We had to get rid of a lot of the kids’ stuff because I’m only entitled to a two-bedroom.

“I’m so drained. It’s a terrible way to live, we all get under each other’s feet all the time.

“It’s three of us and the two dogs in the one room, my aunty sleeps on the couch.

“I just want a house - it doesn’t seem like too much to ask.

“I'll pay rent and I’ll pay council tax, I just want a home for us.

“If it wasn’t for my aunty I don’t know where we’d be.”

Despite being told that her case was a priority, Ms Dobben is yet to receive an offer for accommodation she can accept and says the process has been so frustrating.

She said: “I want to stay in the Port because that’s where my kids go to school. If I’m down as a priority, how can I not get a house?

“There are houses all over here that are empty but still I can’t seem to get one.

“What do they want me to do? Should I go out on the street and sleep with my weans so we’re more of a priority?

“The kids are shattered and it's not a good environment for them to be in.

“They had their own rooms before and now we’re all living in the same room."

Letitia has noticed a difference in herself too, due to the stress of the situation.

She said: “It’s horrible, my mental health has gone right downhill.

“The system doesn’t make sense to me, you don’t even know what place you are in the queue. It's like there’s hundreds of people bidding on one house.

“I feel like they just don’t care about us, it’s just a job to everyone else but we’re living in this horrible situation.”

A spokesperson for Inverclyde Council and its health and social care partnership said: “Alternative temporary accommodation has been offered in Greenock, but this did not meet the service user’s aspirations to remain in Port Glasgow.

“Whilst we endeavour to meet the aspirations of all our clients, the process can take longer if the areas of choice are narrow.

“The team are always available to offer alternative temporary accommodation and provide further Housing Options advice.”

A spokeperson for River Clyde Homes, the largest housing provider in the area, said: "Whenever we receive a homeless referral, we work in partnership with Inverclyde Council in an effort to resolve the situation as soon as possible; but it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases."

Nick Jardine, chief executive of Oak Tree Housing, added: “As far as we are aware the lady concerned has applied for a couple of properties in the Port Glasgow area.

“We don’t have any stock in that area, but we have a specialist allocations team and we would be happy to sit down with her and go through the whole process to try and optimise her opportunities.

“We don’t have any stock in Port Glasgow and that’s not going to change in the short-term, so it’s not likely that we’ll be the people to rehouse her, but we can certainly help her understand the best way forward.”