The young mum-of-two was offered housing in Grimsby but turned it down citing isolation, distance, and mental health worries, reports Marco Marcelline

A homeless young mother says she slept in a Walthamstow park with her two toddlers after she declined an offer by Waltham Forest Council to house her in Grimsby. 

Sabrina* became homeless in November 2024 following domestic abuse that she alleges was perpetrated against her by her mother-in-law.

Before she became homeless, Sabrina lived at her in-laws home in Walthamstow with her two children, now 18 and 36 months old, and her husband.

Speaking to the Echo, Sabrina says her home life was “tense” and “difficult” because of how her mother-in-law treated her. 

She says she was expected to continue birthing children despite her struggles with post-partum depression, and was stressed by “overcrowding” at her in-laws’, who were also hosting three teenage foster children.

Serious disputes and arguments regularly took place between Sabrina and her mother-in-law, with some involving physical assault, she alleges. 

One such argument stemmed from the gifting of a cat to Sabrina by her husband. Sabrina says she quickly developed a strong emotional bond with the cat, but her mother-in-law wanted the cat removed from the house. A “heated” argument ensued over the issue, leading to police almost being called, Sabrina said.

The young mother was then told she would have to leave the house if she was not intent on having more children.

She and her young children became homeless on 15th November, and were promptly put up by the council in an Ilford hotel room where she stayed until recent weeks.

The council wrote to Sabrina on Thursday 27th February informing her of an accommodation offer in Grimsby, adding that it would no longer have a duty to house her if she refused it.

In an email shared with the Echo, a housing officer described the accommodation as “the only suitable property available”. 

They added: “Whilst I understand your concerns…there is a severe shortage of rental properties in and around London, especially with an affordable rent level.”

Sabrina says she refused the offer of accommodation because it was disruptive to her eldest’s nursery education, and was far from her sister who lives in a Bournemouth army barracks.

The council had sought to find accommodation near her sister but could not find any private rented sector properties “in or around the area of Bournemouth”, telling her the situation was mitigable through “daily WhatsApp telephone and video calls”.

Explaining her decision to reject the council’s only offer of housing, Sabrina said: “It is not the cost of the property but where it is that the issue lies. 

“I cannot afford to travel anywhere south nor can any of my family or my children’s father travel up to me [in Grimsby]. It costs too much and takes up almost half of the day commuting. It is not realistic at all. 

She continued: “If I become ill [with depression] then I have no support network around me to help.”

After she was evicted from the Ilford hotel on 5th March, Sabrina says she spent two nights sleeping rough with her children in two Walthamstow parks, before staying in homeless shelter accommodation.

The Echo now understands that the council has re-offered Sabrina the Grimsby accommodation this week, and offered emergency housing until the home is available. 

Cllr Ahsan Khan, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and regeneration, said: “The council works hard to help anyone who approaches us at risk of becoming homeless. 

“All offers of accommodation are made in line with our policies, which are publicly available on the council website, and national guidelines. These are clear that when someone rejects an offer of suitable accommodation, we will not owe them any further duty. As a property previously offered to her was still available, we were happy to re-offer that property again.

 “Unfortunately demand for local homes far outstrips the available supply. We only offer out-of-borough placements when there is simply no suitable or available alternative in the local area.

 “We have been in contact with Sabrina throughout this process and we have been able to arrange the re-offer of settled accommodation for her and her family starting from today, Thursday 13th March, with the offer of emergency accommodation until the property is available.”

Waltham Forest has spent £20million since 2021 on fulfilling its statutory duty of housing at-risk homeless residents. It has regularly pointed to a “chronic shortage” of housing in the borough and within London that makes it difficult to house families close to their support networks. 1,148 households were being temporarily housed by the council in 2023, up from 878 in 2022.

Meanwhile, London councils and housing companies they own have spent more than £140m buying up homes to relocate homeless people out of the city.

More than a dozen councils in the capital, including Waltham Forest, have collectively spent millions buying up more than 850 properties in towns and cities across England since 2017, the Guardian has reported.

*Name has been changed to protect anonymity.

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