It all changed...

Since July 2022's post No kids, no dogs, no benifits, my outlook on life has forever been altered. I had been gifted a life-changing amount of money via a fundraiser to get my son and me home. I took this opportunity to make finding a secured home my full-time job

Farewell to my dear young self.

My incredible network of friends swooped in to save me when I faced homelessness last year. I know how lucky I am to be gifted with this kind of love and support.
My pal Isabel is no exception. She told her mum, Louisa, of our issue. Louisa called me and offered us lodgings in her attic. I knew I needed a soft landing while I figured out a secure home, so with a lot of help from our friends, I put all our belongings into storage, took the basics and moved to West London to live with "The Fairy Godmother". I only remember a little from this period. My community stuck me on a cloud and sailed me gently to a safe nook. It's so hard to say a satisfying thank you for the support I received.

Staying with Louisa was so wonderful. So much maternal love was offered to us with her tenacity for life; she is just so heartening and encouraging. Our stay in the beautiful attic room of this home was nothing less than a fairytale.

I thought we would be with Louisa for a month or two. It ended up being six months of searching for a place to live. With nearly £19k from the fundraiser, I'd get a flat in a flash. I started the usual way of calling letting agents and asking for a property that suits me and being able to say that I have a year's rent in advance. I don't want to go too much into the ins and outs of this saga. Just google search housing crisis London, and it'll show tales of rogue landlords, pay to view a property, widespread scams and unrealistic hoops to jump through. I experienced it all. But without earning 2.5 times the rent of a property, I was going to be far down the queue. After two months of constant work trying to get a flat, I turned to the Council.

The Council was challenging. I request you google this for experiences, but it consisted of being on hold and reading emails that left me feeling demoralized with an aching body and a great sense of failure. I recommend this route only if you are desperate for a secure home. Ultimately, I now have a 10-year lease of a suitable home for my boy and me. Louisa came with us and stayed on his first night in the new flat to ease the transition. I snapped them in the morning and loved the tenderness in this photo. It is such a beautiful, reassuring connection they have.

If anything got taken away from me this year, it's my youthful outlook. I'll never be as blindly hopeful and spontaneous as my young self. Life has inevitable consequences. Our basic needs should be met, or we will never grow. It's time to commit to making these years as wonderful and inspiring as possible. I need to work hard to honour how loved I am and leave my boy with something substantial when I eventually chip off.

The next phase of this story has commenced. Things will march on with my motivation, wonder and focus on the life I gave to my son.