A MUM and her one-year-old daughter are pleading for help after spending the last month sofa surfing and paying out on hotels.
Reece Sharp, 27, and her daughter Bonnie, have been left fearing for their future and Reece worries she has nowhere left to turn after becoming homeless in April.
Castle Point Council initially placed the pair in the Campanile Hotel in Basildon before arranging for them to move into a hostel.
However, Reece worried the hostel was unsuitable for a young child and declined the offer.
Since then, she has been sofa surfing with friends or using her last remaining money to pay for hotels.
Suffering from problems with mental health and caring for a one-year-old, Reece has described the daily fear of “not knowing where we are staying from one night to the next”.
She said: “It has been exhausting, I just want somewhere safe for my daughter.
“Speaking about the situation is really upsetting, it is unbelievable, and I suffer with bad bipolar, so my mood is up and down all the time, which is affecting me mentally.
“I don’t feel I have been listened to, it has been really scary not knowing where we are staying one night to the next.
“I am looking for private rented accommodation but no one will take me because I am not working, I have emailed everyday and am staying in London right now but we have no money and that is a massive strain on me.”
Reece was offered a hostel in York Road to stay in but turned it down as she “had heard of people being accused of smoking, using drugs and living outside the building.
She added: “I don’t think it is good for myself or my daughter, I didn’t feel safe with my daughter being there and the pressure of that put me into a breakdown.
“I was not allowed to take my daughter into the kitchen and I couldn’t just leave her, I was told I could lock the door on her and make her dinner.”
Castle Point Council were approached for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel