NO KIDDING
I’m a young mum and trolls say I got pregnant just for a council house…they are so wrong, being homeless is depressing
Scroll down to find out more about the support available for single parents
A YOUNG mother has clapped back at a nasty troll who accused her of ‘running’ to the council and not taking ‘responsibility’ after having a baby.
Sophie Howard, 25, a young mum-of-one wasn’t afraid to set the record straight and confirmed that prior to having her child, she did in fact have a job and was renting a property.
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But as a result of going on maternity leave, this content creator couldn’t afford to pay for the private rental property and was made homeless.
Now, the brunette beauty lives in temporary accommodation with her almost one-year-old daughter Harlie and wants to share her truth with haters.
Posting on social media, Sophie responded to a nasty comment from a troll that read: “Why do the majority of mums run to the council to get homed? Don’t none of you take responsibility before you have kids and get your own place or a job to pay your own way.”
To this, Sophie clapped back and said: “I just wanna come on here and address this comment as it's something that comes up a lot on my page.
“I don't know why people think that before you have a baby you would sit there and think, ‘let me get pregnant, have a baby, make myself homeless and then expect the council to help’.
“That is not what happened in my case. Before I had my baby, I was working six to seven days a week, 12 hour days and I was renting a one bedroom flat.
“I was financially stable to have a child. Unfortunately, after I had my baby and I was on maternity leave, I could no longer live what I was living.
“And if you live in London, you'll know that the rent prices are crazy. They expect you to be earning three times what the rent is a month.
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“And being on maternity leave, I wasn't even earning what the rent was for a month.”
Sophie explained that as a result of her low finances, she was not accepted for a rental property.
I live in a hostel with my 4 kids – we all share a single room and it’s 8 people to a bathroom, the mess drives me mad
She continued: “So as you can imagine, no private landlord would accept me. My baby was six weeks old and it just wasn't possible for me to go and find a job and leave a six week old baby with someone else.
“I was breastfeeding her and you're entitled to nine months off for a reason.
“So going back to work was just not an option at that point and all I could do was go to the council for some help.
“If I could rent I would rent. If I could have gone back to work, I would have, but I couldn't.”
I never, ever expected to become homeless, especially with a six week old baby
Sophie Howard
The young mother then shared her thoughts on the cost of raising a child, as she added: “And another thing I wanted to say is babies don't actually cost a lot.
“Buying all of their things that they need, the cot, the pram and things like that can cost a lot, but you could get second-hand if you really needed to, for cheap, or sometimes for free.
“But living with a baby is not expensive. When my daughter was newborn, she literally cost me under £2 a week.
“Her nappies were 80p, wipes were 60p and because I was breastfeeding, I didn't have to pay for any milk.
“Now she's 11 months old, she eats three meals a day and she probably costs me £15 a week.
“That's because her formula is £12, her nappies are £2.50 and the wipes are 60p. So a baby isn't actually expensive and doesn't actually change your financial situation.
“So it's not that I wasn't financially stable and I didn't take responsibility before having a baby.
Support for single parents
THOUSANDS of single parents across the UK can get freebies and discounts to help them with the cost of living.
The price of energy, food and more has soared for households as wallets and purses are stretched.
Being a single parent is already hard enough, let alone in the current climate.
But you can get extra help if you're in this situation, from cost of living payments to Bereavement Support payments.
All the help is worth up to £26,000 a year so is definitely worth looking into.
Cost of living payments: The Government is handing out cost of living payments collectively worth £1,350 between now and spring 2024.
This includes a £900 payment which has been split into three instalments.
Council tax reductions: You should check with your local council about what help you can get and to apply.
Sure Start Maternity Grant: Single mothers can get a £500 free cash through the Sure Start Maternity Grant.
Child benefit: If you are a parent responsible for a child under 16, or 20 and in full-time education or training, you can get extra cash help through child benefit.
The weekly rates are worth £24 for your eldest or only child, and then £15.90 for any additional children.
Healthy Start vouchers: Hundreds of thousands of parents across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are missing out on up to £442 free cash every year via the Healthy Start scheme.
The scheme is open to those on a low income and designed to help you pay for milk, vegetables, fruit and more.
NHS Low Income scheme: Under the NHS Low Income scheme you can get help paying prescriptions, dental treatment and more.
Free school meals: All children can automatically get free school meals if they're in reception, year 1 or year 2 of a state school.
Tax-Free childcare: Single parents on Universal Credit can claim back up to 85% of the cost of childcare for children aged under 17.
But you must be working the equivalent of 16 hours a week at minimum wage.
Bereavement Support Payment: You might be entitled to a Bereavement Support payment if your partner has died.
But you have to have been under state pension age, currently 66, when they died.
15-30 hours of free childcare: The free childcare system is changing from April 2024, but as it stands in England, all parents of three and four-year-olds can claim 570 hours of free childcare a year, which equates to 15 hours a week.
“I was, and I did have responsibility before having a baby. But sometimes situations do change.
“And literally, if you would have asked me two years ago, before I even got pregnant, if I thought I was gonna be in this situation that I'm in now, I would have laughed and said, ‘no way’.”
As a result, Sophie was made homeless, with a six week old baby.
She explained: “I never, ever expected to become homeless, especially with a six week old baby. But sometimes things change and things happen.
“And trust me, becoming homeless with a baby is not an easy route. People think that becoming homeless and going to the council is easy and you'll get a place just like that.
Please don't think becoming homeless and going down the council route is easy, because trust me, it actually is not
Sophie Howard
“It’s actually really hard and mentally it’s honestly the most horrible thing I've ever experienced.
“When you first become homeless, the way it makes you feel and the process that you go through, it is so hard and it's honestly so depressing.
“You can't just get a house and then that's it, you're fine. Sometimes you could be moving accommodation every week.”
Sophie bravely opened up about her experience being homeless, as she revealed: “When I first got made homeless, I got put in a hotel for a week and at the end of that week I had to move all my stuff out the hotel, sit in the reception area from 11am until 6pm, with all of my stuff and my baby, because I didn't know what was gonna happen that evening.
“You could get moved several times before you even get offered a property. And sometimes you might not even get offered a property.”
Clapping back to the haters, Sophie concluded: “You could be in temporary accommodation for five years. So please don't think becoming homeless and going down the council route is easy, because trust me, it actually is not easy.”
SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @_sophielhoward, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it was posted just one week ago, but has quickly amassed 15,800 views.
Social media users were eager to support Sophie and many took to the comments to share their kind messages, as well as their own, similar, personal experiences.
You shouldn’t have to explain yourself but well done for standing up for yourself
TikTok user
One person said: “This!! I was financially stable before I had my son. Got made homeless last year and house prices had doubled. I had no one to look after my son so I could work. It’s really not easy at all.”
Another added: “People need to keep their opinions to themselves! Especially when they don’t know people’s situation. Soph, you are one of the most genuine people and you’ve had to sit there and explain to this fool!”
A third commented: “It’s so sad that people actually think like that. You shouldn’t have to explain yourself but well done for standing up for yourself.”
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Whilst someone else chimed in: “I'm stuck at my mums, have been for nine years. You don't get council houses so easily, people don't realise what the housing crisis is like now, the only chance you have is being homeless and having the council forced to house you.”
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