Havering: Homeless woman who lost her baby speaks out

Katie, who did not want her full name published, said she was left unable to afford her rent after her husband left and she lost her job. 

After months moving between hotels, she suffered a miscarriage. 

“The doctors don’t know the cause, but they think it might be the stress of the situation I’m in,” Katie said. 

“Each week I have to move hotel. You don’t get your new hotel booking until about half an hour before you have to leave. 

“I’ve got no appliances. I haven’t eaten a proper meal in three months.” 

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Paul McGeary, Havering Council’s Labour cabinet member for housing, said Katie’s situation was “an all too real example of the cost of the housing crisis”. 

“My heartfelt sympathies go to Katie on the loss of her baby and her situation,” he said. 

Fired 

Katie, in her early-20s, told the Recorder how two devastating events saw her forced out of her privately-rented three-bedroom house and into a budget hotel in Dagenham. 

Late last year her marriage broke down and she lost her job.  

She had been working for several months in an administrative position. 

But the day after she told colleagues she was pregnant, said Katie, "I was sacked.” 

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She suspected the company got rid of her rather than pay for maternity leave. 

After going from two incomes to none, Katie could not cover her rent and bills. 

“I told the council I was going to become homeless,” she said.  

“Lost everything” 

“The day I was moving out, I called and told them I was leaving the property, I had no money and I was unemployed. 

“They told me to stay on a bench with all my stuff and wait for a call. I waited until what turned out to be four hours after they’d closed. At no stage did anybody call me back.” 

She eventually called an out-of-hours emergency number and was placed in a hotel. 

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The council would not help pay for storage, Katie claimed, so she had to leave her belongings – including her bed and mattress – in the street.  

Now, she said, “All I’ve got is a suitcase full of clothes. I’ve lost everything. My fridge. My washing machine. My drawers and wardrobe.” 

Everything she left behind was either stolen or destroyed by the weather, Katie said. 

Labour councillor Paul McGeary, cabinet member for housing, said Katie's case was 'an all too real example' of the effects of a London-wide housing crisis (Image: Archant)

“Constant stress” 

“I’ve been in hotels for about three months,” Katie told the Recorder. 

“Others have been in even longer. One woman has been in hotels for seven months. She has three kids and they’re living off takeaways.” 

Havering Council has sometimes placed Katie in hotels which charged her large sums to park her car, she said, eating into what little money she had available. 

She visited foodbanks, but almost everything they gave her needed to be cooked. 

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In January, she started suffering from cramps and felt her mental health deteriorating at the same time, due to the “constant stress and worry”. 

“One night I was sitting there and I got really severe pains,” Katie said. 

She went to Queen’s Hospital and was told her baby had died.  She had to undergo surgery to remove the foetus.  

She cannot definitively blame the stress of her living situation, but she feels it is the likely cause and claimed doctors shared her view. 

Council 

Katie said she bids every week for one-bedroom council properties, but to no avail. 

“We simply do not have enough housing stock available to offer residents like Katie affordable accommodation,” said Cllr McGeary, blaming a London-wide housing crisis. 

The Recorder has previously reported that Havering’s homelessness service is experiencing “record demand” as the cost-of-living crisis is leading to an increased number of evictions. 

“The council continues to be in regular contact with Katie to help her complete her support plan and to assist with her ongoing search for a new home,” Cllr McGeary added.