Homeless woman at breaking point ‘forced to live in Premier Inn for 19 months’

Last year, a homeless woman stayed in a hotel waiting for a short-term solution. Annette Wilkinson, 50, thought she would be there for a few weeks, maybe months at most.

Following the break-up of her relationship which left her homeless, Annette unexpectedly became a long-term guest at the Premier Inn in Bude, Cornwall, where she has been living for the past 19 months, moving rooms every two weeks or so.

Struggling with depression and feeling hopeless, Annette, who volunteers at a charity shop, knows the ins and outs of hotel life. With only a kettle in the room, her diet is limited to sandwiches and fruit salads; he’s only had one proper meal since he moved.

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“It’s really heartbreaking and at the moment I’ve just had enough,” expressed Annette, looking back on her move to Cornwall six years ago to be closer to her family. “I can’t cope like this anymore and I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”

Her situation is made even more difficult by the fact that her four rescue cats have been in foster care for a long time. “The rescue has bent over backwards, but it’s been so long and I can’t keep them forever,” she told Devon Live, the Daily Record reports.

Annette describes her harsh living conditions in the hotel: “I have a kettle and a TV and that’s it. So every day I have to go out and buy something fresh to eat or make myself sandwiches, but I can’t keep the rest because there’s no fridge or anything, I just live on fruit salads and yogurt.”

“I can’t remember the last time I cooked. In the 19 months I’ve been here, I’ve had a home-cooked meal once.” That rare moment of warmth came on New Year’s Day, when a kind-hearted Premier Inn employee invited her to his family for dinner.

She was also moved from room to room in the hotel so often, every two weeks in fact, that she unwittingly became an expert on the hotel’s appearance. “I’ve had housing officers tell me my case has fallen through the cracks and no one is dealing with it. At one point I tried to call my housing officer for ten weeks and didn’t even speak to him.’

“I can call and call the new one I have now and leave messages and they never come back. They made mistakes on my application form which affected my bid for Home Choice (the social housing waiting system in Cornwall). My local connection was missing which affected my bid.”

In a voice laced with despair, she admits, “I don’t know what to do, I’m so depressed about it all.”

Like many others stuck in temporary housing in Cornwall, she faces issues such as no-fault evictions, rising rents and the hurdles of securing mortgages.

The cost of living crisis is having a serious impact on residents and Annette highlights the impact on her mental health: “I actually have to throw away most of the ingredients for the food I buy because it doesn’t keep without a fridge.”

A Cornwall Council spokesman expressed his empathy for those struggling amid the housing shortage, saying: “We sympathize with the position some residents find themselves in as Cornwall continues to face extreme pressures on housing availability. We are committed to providing support to anyone. resident faced with homelessness”.

The spokesperson detailed the challenges, saying: “However, there is a high demand for housing, including our own housing stock, properties we rent and other accommodation, particularly when a household is applying for housing in a certain area. We continue to provide support for everyone living in emergency housing to help them find long-term homes.”

Detailing the council’s responsibilities, the representative said: “Under homelessness legislation the Council has a duty to provide temporary accommodation to certain households and we are working with them on a regularly reviewed Personalized Housing Plan which sets out the steps that would they need to do to secure alternative housing and the support the Council can provide through this, which may include help to auction properties on Homechoice or a rent advance and deposit to support them in private rented accommodation.”

“Over the past four years, the number of households in need of emergency accommodation has increased by around 240% to 851, while the number of households on our social housing register is now over 20,000.”