A MUM-OF-THREE is pleading for help after being left in a small hotel room without a fridge or kitchen with her young children.
The mother, 32, was recently granted urgent asylum from the Caribbean island of Grenada and placed in a home in Vange by the Home Office.
However after being granted the right to stay in the country by Government, Basildon Council was given the responsibility of finding the family accommodation.
On Wednesday, the day of her eviction, the mum claims she was not informed of where the family would spent the night and had to “beg” Basildon Council to find them somewhere to stay.
The family were placed in a bed and breakfast on Wednesday night before moving to a hotel in Southend on Thursday.
Basildon Council has said due to massive strain not all issues can be resolved immediately and the council worked hard to provide the family accommodation.
The mum, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It is incredibly stressful, my son went to school on Wednesday and he said ‘mummy, is it okay if you can send me the address so we can see where we are going?’
“It was heart-breaking and when they came home from school and I said I had to go now, I walked in to my son in my living room, on his knees crying.
“It is crazy, my children can see the importance of this, why should I be here waiting?”
The family went to the council offices on Wednesday but the mum claims she was told to return to the Vange home despite the landlord changing the locks.
She added: “I started crying, I got emotional and I felt it was incredibly cruel, I had to comfort my children.”
Now the family are “in limbo” and claim the hotel is unsuitable for a family and lacks basic amenities including a fridge or kitchen.
Many of their items are currently in storage with members of her church.The mum has been supported by Christopher Hughes, Bishop of Basildon for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
He said: “Basildon Council has known about this for three or four weeks. She has done this process properly, it is an appalling situation.”
A council spokesman said: “In this case, our officers worked hard to help and provide secure, safe and suitable temporary accommodation as well as working on an ongoing basis to help find suitable settled accommodation.”
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