Child says she is 'finding school difficult' after family were evicted

2022-10-07

Heartbreaking moment seven-year-old says she finds school ‘difficult’ while she is separated from her mother and sisters following their eviction from their family home – and vows never to have children because it is ‘too hard’

Dispatches shows what it means for a child to be evicted on tonight’s episode
The show follows the story of a family through the eyes of seven-year-old Bella
Bella’s family were evicted and moved into a hotel over an hour from her school
Her sisters Nylah and Macie, mother Clarissa and partner Theo now live in a hotel
Their story is on Britain’s Evicted Kids: Dispatches which airs tonight at 7:30pm

This is the heartbreaking moment a seven-year-old says she is ‘finding school difficult’ because she can’t stop thinking about her mother after the pair were separated when they were evicted from their family home.

Bella, from Birmingham, appears on Channel 4’s Britain’s Evicted Kids: Dispatches which airs tonight at 7:30pm, where she describes how she ‘doesn’t want to become a mother’ because it’s ‘too hard’.

She was separated from her mother Clarissa, sisters Nylah and Macie and Clarissa’s partner Theo following their eviction when the family were placed in temporary accommodation several miles away from Bella’s school, meaning the seven-year-old had to live with her grandmother instead.

As record-high rents combined with the cost-of-living crisis push more and more renters to the edge, Channel 4′ s Dispatches uncovers the reality of eviction, homelessness and temporary accommodation for families across the country.

Through the eyes of seven-year-old, Bella, Britain’s Evicted Kids: Dispatches shows what it means for a child to be evicted from the only home they have ever known on tonight’s episode on Channel 4

Bella and her two younger sisters Nylah and Macie, her mum Clarissa and partner Theo were evicted from their two-bed flat in Birmingham in April, after their landlord decided to sell the flat

During the show, Bella, whose family were booted out of their home when their landlord decided to sell it, explained how she missed her mother.

She said: ‘I miss playing with my sisters, hugging mummy…yeah, it’s just…I’m just finding school difficult, I just think about Mummy at the hotel and I just think that’s difficult for her.’

She added: ‘I’m finding school difficult, I just think about Mommy at the hotel and stuff like that because I think that it’s hard for her being a Mum.’

For most families like Bella’s, living in a hotel is not just a short-term solution.

They were initially placed in a hotel a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Bella’s school therefore the family had to split up

In one heartbreaking clip Bella said she is ‘finding school difficult’ and ‘doesn’t want to ever become a mother’ because it’s ‘too hard’ after her family were evicted from their home and moved into a hotel

Bella is forced to split up from her family and move in with her Nan so she can continue going to school and doesn’t miss classes

The family are moved to a hotel closer to Bella’s school, but must change rooms every 28 days until a temporary flat is found for them.

After seeing her mother’s struggle, Bella told the programme:’I don’t want to be a Mum. I don’t want to have babies. Do you know why?

‘Because it’s going to be hard, and I don’t want it to be hard. I’m going to buy a house instead.’

Speaking on the show Bella said she is finding ‘school difficult’ because she thinks about her mother at the hotel

Bella is very aware of the pressure her mum is under and said she doesn’t want to be a mum herself when she’s older

Bella is just one of 120,000 children now living in temporary accommodation in the UK.

The film also shows the scale of evictions in the UK and the affect it is having on families who are battling to keep a roof over their heads.

The number of households with children who were homeless or at risk of imminent homelessness increased by more than 23 per cent in England across a 12-month period between 2021 and 2022, new analysis by Dispatches has revealed.

The number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation is growing – up by almost a quarter in the last five years.

Bella was pictured in the van with all of their belongings as they moved from their home into a hotel

Bella moved in with her nan as her parents moved all of their belongings into a small room in a hotel

All of the family’s belongings had to be shipped to their hotel where they don’t have much space

The programme’s research also found that in the first three months of this year, around 26,000 households like Bella’s were put in accommodation outside of their borough after being made homeless, three times the number in the same period 10 years ago.

The cost of living in temp accommodation

● A third (34%) of people in temporary accommodation have had to cut back on heating/electricity.

● A third (33%) have had to turn to food banks.

● Around half (47%) have had to borrow money.

Rents are now at a record-high and surging mortgage interest rates have sparked worries they will increase further in the months to come, so for many families it’s becoming ever more difficult to find somewhere affordable to live – even with the help of housing benefits.

Exclusive research, carried out for Dispatches by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, reveals just one in 50 properties in Britain in July this year were affordable to people relying on housing benefits.

In Bella’s area fewer than 1 in 100 are affordable and in 19 areas across Britain, including London, not a single affordable property could be found throughout July, and in a further 22 areas there was only one affordable property advertised during the entire month.

According to new survey data from Shelter, rising living costs have made two-thirds (66%) of private renters more worried about how they will pay their rent.

And one in four private renters have cut back on food or skipped meals to pay their rent – a 66% increase in the last two years.

A separate survey by Shelter of more than 1,000 homeless households in England – found 26% are falling behind on temporary accommodation payments, including rent, bills and service charges, amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism calculated that in England, the average increase in Local Housing Allowance needed to make 30% of the properties advertised affordable was £206 but in Central London it was as much as £1,444.

In the clip Bella said she missed her mums hugs as they were ‘better’ then her nan’s in a heartbreaking moment

The little girl said she was finding school different as she is thinking about her mother in a hotel room

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