A woman who is 38 weeks pregnant has been left without a safe place to call home for two months. After an attack from a resident that left her in hospital for a week in April, Zoe McBride has been too scared to return to her one-bedroom flat in South Gloucestershire.
She says she had been contacting Bromford housing association for over eight months to be moved due what she says was constant disturbance. Now she just two weeks short of her due date, without a place to call home and feels that Bromford and the council don’t seem to recognise ‘the urgency’ of the matter.
Bromford says it has been working with South Gloucestershire Council since April in attempts to find Zoe, who struggles with her mental health and has experienced back pain for the last 15 years, alternative accommodation.
READ MORE: Pregnant woman says she feels unsafe after 'resident attacked her'
The expectant mother said that not having her own bed has made the pain worse and she was constantly exhausted from moving between different friends' homes in Bristol. Now she is living with family in Cornwall, where she will have the baby but hopes to be rehoused in Bristol or Brighton, where she has a support network.
Over the past few months she has attempted to find a place to rent privately in Bristol. But she found they are either unaffordable or fully booked for viewings on the same day they are listed.
Zoe said: “I’ve lost stability and been pushed from pillar to post but I’m not getting anywhere with the housing authorities. For eight months, I was trying constantly to get moved, I said I didn’t feel safe there and then it escalated.
“Even since that happened, I’m the one being blamed and it’s having a massive impact on my wellbeing. It just feels really unjust.
“It’s a matter of urgency and it doesn’t feel like they recognise that. Even someone who isn’t pregnant and hasn’t got physical disabilities shouldn’t be made to leave their home because of someone else's violence. When you’re pregnant you just want to settle and nest and be comfortable and not be in anyone else's space.”
Natalie Colfer, head of neighbourhoods and communities at Bromford, said: “We’re sorry Ms McBride doesn’t feel safe to live in her flat. Since the incident in April we have been working with her support network and South Gloucestershire Council to help her find a new home.
“We have remained in regular contact to update on our progress and the action we have taken against the perpetrator. We are currently working with the council to ensure she can obtain the highest priority on their housing system and that she would be eligible to apply for two-bedroom homes with all housing associations in South Gloucestershire.
“This would also allow us to consider offering her a management transfer to a new home if that is her preferred choice. We will continue to work with Ms McBride and to support her.”
South Gloucestershire council was approach for a comment.
