A mum-of-six has slammed the council after being forced to live apart from two of her children on either side of busy dual carriageway. Rebecca Fenner has described her family's housing situation as 'ridiculous and inhumane', Birmingham Live reports.
The 33-year-old lives with her four children, aged nine, seven and one-year-old twins boys, in a one-bedroom property on the A45 Coventry Road, in Yardley. On the other side of the road, her husband is in another one-bedroom home with their daughters aged 12 and 15.
Rebecca has pleaded with the council to provide them with one self-contained property without shared facilities. However, the mum says she has 'hit a brick wall' and that the family have now been stuck in with the two property arrangement for four months.
One of her sons also has suspected autism, with the dismal living situation exasperating his behavioural issues. Her eldest daughter, 15, is also due to sit her GCSE mocks, and is struggling to concentrate on her studies.
Rebecca is often left to look after the children by herself while her husband, 38, works as a HGV driver. His long hours mean that their two eldest daughters are often left sleeping alone in one property, which also raises safety concerns.
Rebecca said: "I have phoned the council for an update and still nothing. They have referred me to other B&Bs. This is ridiculous and inhumane what they are doing to me.
"I'm hoping they will move us to somewhere which is self-contained. We don't want a homeless centre or another B&B.
"The problem is no-one is helping me and I just feel like everywhere I go I'm hitting a brick wall.
"No-one is doing anything about it. I'm not being heard. I don't think I'm asking for a lot. Just somewhere self-contained that we can all be together and ideally we're on our on.
"My son cannot handle being around other people's children. If they say something to him he doesn't like he'll lash out at them. This is massively affecting him. He's a child. He needs stability. We all need stability."
A Birmingham city council spokesman previously said: "Like all councils dealing with a national housing crisis we would prefer not to have to place homeless people in temporary accommodation.
"We have offered this family alternative accommodation, including rooms within the same building in their current accommodation as well as rooms in a purpose built homeless centre, however they have refused both offers.
"We will continue to look for more suitable accommodation for this household and will ensure that they are contacted by one of our outreach team who can provide support and advice regarding housing options including renting in the private sector.
"However, Birmingham has a high demand on our waiting list and all offers of permanent accommodation will be made in line with our housing allocation policy."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
