Samira (not her real name) was forced to leave home after coming out as a lesbian to her family.
Now, she lives independently and volunteers at the charity, Roundabout, which supported her through homelessness. She shares her story of living in supported accommodation.
Samira’s story
When Samira’s family learnt about her sexuality at 16, they disapproved due to their culture and strict religious beliefs.
To prevent Samira from being who she was, her parents attempted to take her passport and force her into an arranged marriage. Only later, when she spoke to the police, did Samira realise this was a forced marriage and illegal.
Because of this Samira fled home and spent a few weeks on her partner’s sofa, before getting a flat through a youth homelessness service. However, living independently was a challenge.
“With newfound freedom, you don’t get a lot of lessons learned, or taught to you. In my culture, as a female, you don’t get taught how to do bills or look after a home… It fell through and I ended up losing my tenancy” – Samira.
After losing her tenancy, Samira was forced to go through the homeless service once more. It was here that she was introduced to the charity Roundabout, and placed in a hostel.
Samira lived in the hostel while completing her courses at college. She shared the accommodation with a number of other girls, who were all a similar age.
“At the beginning it was great, I could leave whenever I wanted and it was like living in a house with parents who were more lenient, or what I thought was lenient. You had a curfew for when you had to return. I was 17 at the time so I thought it was very reasonable,” she said.
However, when the UK went into lockdown in 2020, things became a lot more challenging.
Samira said: “We didn’t realise how much it would affect us, but 16 different personalities stuck in a big house where you weren’t allowed to leave, unless you met a certain criteria, it wasn’t very nice… It was like a prison.”
After lockdown, Samira was finally able to move into her own accommodation and, while her time in the hostel was challenging, she learned a lot there.
“It did teach me a lot, being in that place. If it wasn’t for the place that I was at, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I’m grateful for it.”
A day in Samira’s life
Prior to the Covid lockdown, Samira lived in the hostel and studied at college. She explains what a typical day in her life was like.
Normally, Samira would wake up at 6AM before any of the staff were awake. She would shower quietly, so as to not disturb those still sleeping.
At about 7am, the staff would wake up and unlock the doors, and Samira would set off to college. While on the bus to college, she would meet with some friends and then eat breakfast once she arrived.
As a homeless young person, Samira had an advanced loan to help her pay for essentials, and she received funding for meals like breakfast.
After this, she would meet with the college counsellor.
Samira said: “It wasn’t technically an early morning therapy affirmation class, but that was basically what it was. They would ease us into going into lessons and prepare us for the day.”
During the day, Samira would spend most of her time in the art studios, as she studied an art course, and would stay in college throughout lunchtime.
“At lunchtime, everyone would go home, but obviously for me that wasn’t the case. Instead of just going to the hostel and coming back, I’d rather just sit in college and socialise,” she said.
Often, Samira would also spend lunch at the library and assist with art projects. Nursery children would sometimes come in, and Samira would help with their work too.
Following on from lunch, she would continue with her coursework, and then it would be time to go home. Samira wouldn’t often head straight home, and would instead hang out with her friends from the hostel.
Samira said: “We’d go and natter, talk about what life has been like, being so different from everyone else, and how horrible it was being different – ‘We have more responsibilities,’ and this, that and the other. We’d basically complain about our lives.”
When Samira would eventually head home, she’d typically cook her dinner and watch a movie before heading to bed.
While the hostel allowed Samira to learn and survive, living as a homeless young person was challenging. This was particularly apparent at college.
Samira said: “For everyone else, they’d go home and they’d go back to their families. They could ask for advice, ask for support, ask for help. Whereas, with us, we’d have to learn how to do those things on our own.” Samira is now 23, and lives in her own accommodation. She still receives support from Roundabout staff when needed, but is independent in providing for herself. Alongside volunteering at Roundabout, she hopes to become a teacher and is working towards her teaching qualification.
