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40 images Created 28 Jun 2015

The Other Half

The Other Half is a collection of photo stories exposing the realities of women and children in hidden homelessness in Britain. The project captures their lives of displacement, unsuitable living spaces. Women and children have been hit hard from the economic crisis and lack of homes. Many are left in unprotected and vulnerable situations following marriage breakdown, domestic abuse etc. Their presence among those homeless and in temporary shelters are in large numbers.
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  • Samantha and her infant child have had spurts of rough sleeping when she had no one to turn to.
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  • Samantha has been couch surfing in order to survive off the street.
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  • 4n10 / Save the Children
    4n10 / Save the Children
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  • Linda, originally from Trinidad, is the single mother of a seven-year old daughter and the main carer of her elderly mother. She has been waiting several years for the Home Office to decide if she can remain permanently in the UK. Until November 2014 she was living in a small flat that she rented from an uncle. But, out of the blue, she received a notice of eviction. Her confused residency situation meant that she was not eligible for housing assistance.
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  • "I don't have enough money. Everything is on top of you, you do the best you can, face the causes, and plead your case" Linda.
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  • In November 2014 Linda receives a notice of eviction. She has no-where to go.
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  • The UK has had a steady increase in the number of evictions since the year 2000. According to the Ministry of Justice 37,739 private and public sector tenants in 2013 saw their homes repossessed by court bailiffs. The 2014 statistics are not yet complete but show significant rises.
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  • Linda, her mum and daughter have packed all their belongings and being waiting for some help for weeks.
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  • Linda is originally from Trinidad. Her daughter was born in the UK and goes to a school near their home. They have been living in a limbo for the last seven years waiting for their case to be reviewed by the Home Office.
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  • The stress of an eviction particularly on children is great.
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  • Linda gave away most of her belongings as there was no room for them in the hostel. She is receiving help from a law centre to make her case.
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  • Linda and her daughter were given a room in a B&B in Southall.
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  • After living for six years in a temporary flat in West London, Francesca, a single mum with two children and pregnant with a third, was unexpectedly given a notice to leave in June 2013.
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  • Francesca was taken to court by Hammersmith Council in London over supposedely an unpaid week rent of £26. It turned out to be more of an intimidation decision rather than a collection matter. Francesca has repeteadly declared before being sent to court that she had never missed a payment. During the court the unpaid bill was hardly mentioned but instead she was told that she had to leave the flat.
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  • The morning of the eviction, Francesca says:'I have told my children that we are going to wait, we will be fine and we will have a beautiful new home. I cannot bear to tell them the truth.'
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  • "The children think that they will be going to a nice beautiful home. I cannot bear yet to tell them that we are going to a hostel room, One day, we will be living in a proper home" Francesca.
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  • "The hardest thing is to keep the children occupied in the hostel room" Francesca.
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  • Francesca uses a cartoon box and covers it with a kitchen towel to give a sense of normality to the their lives.
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  • The communal kitchen is used by everyone, which it also means those with drug problems. Francesca does not feel comfortable being there with her children.
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  • The increasing numbers of homeless in London alone demonstrate the  scale of inequality.
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  • Samantha is a single mum of three children that became homeless after her landlord gave her an eviction notice. The council of Newham did not fulfil his duty to house her. She become homeless. With no-where to go, Samantha has relied on friends and family for support, coach surfing in various homes. In this photo, Samantha is holding her infant child outside her mother's flat.
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  • Samantha is a London homeless, 35 year old single mum with three children aged 11, 9 and an infant of 5 months. She was renting privately when her landlord without giving much notice issued an eviction notice that made her homeless. The council of Newham in London accepted her homeless status in June 2013, but did not perform its legal duty until February 2014.  Prior of this date and to this day, she has relied on friends and family for a place to sleep in.  According to the most a citywide survey published in the Guardian, Samantha joins the more than 700 wornen reported sleeping on the street in 2013 in London.
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  • Samantha is a homeless mother of three children. Without a place to live, she is coach surfing. In this photo, she is living in a friends flat, whilst her two other sons live with her mother.
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  • Samantha is staying in a friends' flat, whilst her two other sons live with her mother.
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  • Samantha received help from a solicitor working for the housing charity Shelter.
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  • Rachel is a teenager single mother living in Focus E15 hostel. The hostel is to be permanently closed due to lack of funding. She will be made homeless.
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  • Rachel and other young mother in the dedicated homeless hostel for teenage and young mother will be left homeless after the hostel imminent closure. They have set a group to voice their anger called Focus E15 from the name of the hostel.
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  • Tasha is 19 and she has been homeless for three years now. She does not like her small room but she is grateful she is not in the streets. Tasha.
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  • Tasha is an homeless teenager and has been living in a hostel for nearly two years. Tasha has no support and she spends a lot of her time praying to God for help and comfort.
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  • Olivia is uncertain for her future and that of her child. She has one day left before the pending order to leave the council flat and baylifs would come to claim the house's keys.
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  • F. believes that the mental health problems she experiences are largely a result of prolonged isolation and the instability of her housing.
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  • F. is a mother of two. She and her children became homeless after her relationship broke down.
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