Rose, a mother of two, contacted the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) in May 2014 about social housing and how her family’s homelessness had been addressed.
She and her children had been placed in unsuitable emergency accommodation.
Keith, her youngest child, told the OCO what it was like:
“It’s freezing. That’s why I have this furry blanket. I share it with my mam and sister. I don’t like when people bully me.
“We have no upstairs. I’ve no space to play except in my room but that’s full of clothes. I’m sad ’cos can’t have a dog here.
“When I think of the house I’d like . . . okay, in the sitting room there’s a doggie drinking water.
“The telly’s on. Upstairs there’s a black and white stripy rug in my room. I’ve two beds so my friend can sleep over. I’ve pictures on the walls. I can’t have any in this house.
“In the garden there’s a flower pot there and a flower pot there. We’ve two guard dogs, a trampoline and a bouncy castle.
“If we had that house we wouldn’t have to move all the time. Mammy’s cried over that.”
