Ayat shares her story to support national 165,000 Reasons campaign

She made the brave decision to come out to her family…but their reaction led to a spiral of sofa surfing, nights in hostels, temporary accommodation and being left with nowhere to call home.

With the support of South Yorkshire youth homelessness charity Roundabout, Ayat has rebuilt her life and found a sense of security she once thought she would never be able to enjoy.

And she was recently one of the guest speakers at the Local Government Association’s annual conference in Bournemouth, sharing her experiences as part of the new 165,000 Reasons campaign, which is bringing together charities like Roundabout, along with councils, businesses and people with lived experience to press for better conditions in temporary accommodation, faster routes into stable homes and lasting reform.

“My homelessness journey began when I came out as a lesbian to a family who did not accept me,” says Ayat, who is now a peer educator with Roundabout, sharing her story and experiences with young people across the region.

“After that, I sofa surfed, lived in hostels, received floating support in my own tenancies and spent a significant amount of time in temporary accommodation provided by the council, meaning I was in and out of homelessness throughout much of my late teens and early twenties.”

Looking back, Ayat admits that she would not have survived without the Roundabout team.

“Without them, I do not know where I would be now - their support helped me survive my time in temporary accommodation,” she says.

“My strongest memory of temporary accommodation is feeling abandoned.

“During my most recent experience, I lived in a Travelodge for roughly five months, but temporary accommodation placements were only confirmed for short periods.

“I repeatedly had to ask the council whether mine would be extended, often waiting until the end of the day for a text telling me where I would sleep that night.

“I also had to tell different members of staff my whole story repeatedly, which was exhausting and traumatising.

“Something as simple as staff reading existing notes, understanding trauma and speaking to young people with kindness would help us feel respected, rather than as though we must continually prove that we deserve support.”

Ayat has now finished her studies and is searching for work in a tough job market - but her experience, and the support she received from Roundabout, has given her strength.

“Living day by day without knowing where you will sleep makes it impossible to plan anything,” she recalls.

“You cannot focus on work, education, appointments or looking after yourself because all your energy goes into worrying about what will happen next.

“I stopped eating properly and spent time in hospital because of stress and my declining mental health.”

Ayat says she felt lucky to have the Roundabout team constantly advocating for her but that she thinks of the thousands of young people and families in temporary accommodation who do not have somebody fighting their corner - which is why she is speaking out for the 165,000 Reasons campaign.

“Councils should have dedicated services for young people, with staff trained in homelessness, adverse childhood experiences, mental health and trauma,” she insists.

“Young people’s needs and communication styles can be very different - I often felt that decisions were made about me, rather than with me.

“Most importantly, every young person should have a dedicated council worker who stays with them throughout the process, somebody who answers messages, explains decisions, checks how they are feeling and connects them with organisations like Roundabout.

“Young people like me understand that councils are under pressure and we are not asking for the impossible.

“But being treated with kindness, dignity and respect would make an enormous difference.

“Homelessness is about so much more than where somebody sleeps and recognising that and providing the right support could change the lives of thousands of young people.”

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