Housing campaigner uses lived experience of homelessness in new Wake The Tiger performance piece

“I know our government is not going to sort out social housing, I don’t believe anything I’m being told by official bodies anymore.”

The pandemic was a turning point for mother-of-two Amanda Wall who hit rock bottom after losing all her income and subsequently turning to alcohol. All the work she had previously done as a singer-songwriter dried up and the single mother who had previously managed financially was no longer able to pay the rent.

“Everybody turned really vile in lockdown, not paying money owed. My depression got so bad and drinking got so bad I got a burst stomach ulcer and just lost the plot,” explained the 52-year-old who ended up bankrupt.

After getting into rent arrears during 2020, she was evicted from her private rental in Henleaze in 2022 along with her two children who are now 19 and 12 years old. But to the judge's surprise, she refused the offer of a defence at the time because she could no longer bear to remain in a property ‘infested with rats and a carbon monoxide leak’, Amanda claimed.

She told Bristol Live she wanted to get out but had to wait for the court hearing to avoid being classed as intentionally homeless. Once they were evicted they spent the summer of 2022 moving between different hotels before being rehoused on October 10 - World Homeless Day.

Although Amanda enrolled on a masters course while still in emergency hotel accommodation and exposed the ill treatment she was experiencing to the local press - she found the whole process traumatising and believes that it has contributed to the ill health she continues to experience to this day. “I think they only rehoused me to shut me up,” explained Amanda who was provided with permanent accommodation in less than six months of becoming homeless.

Between 2022-23 the most common length of time for households with children to stay in temporary accommodation was 2–5 years.

Amanda has even received a personal apology from the former cabinet member for housing at Bristol City Council, Tom Renhard, who said: "It's clear there have been things that have gone wrong. We're sorry Amanda has had a poor experience, and want to make sure it won't happen again,” the BBC reported .

"What I've watched myself and my kids go through is completely avoidable."

Two years later, Amanda’s life is back on track, she has sustained her recovery from alcohol dependence, works at a David Lloyd gym and continues to earn money as a self-employed person within the creative industries. But she hasn’t forgotten the families she met while staying in the hotels.

“What I’ve watched myself and my kids go through is completely avoidable. I know our government is not going to sort out social housing, I don’t believe anything I’m being told by official bodies anymore.

“I want people to know that there are people out there who care about you because without knowing there are people who care about you, what have you got? Some of the girls in the hotels were so young and it was like they’d just been dumped there," Amanda said.

Amanda's show, FEAR, which stands for "Families-Emergency-Accommodation-Restart" includes real audio extracts from conversations Amanda had with housing officers and other authentic stories from people living in emergency accommodation in Bristol. She hopes to raise £100,000 for the charity Shelter where she currently volunteers.

Alongside her creative production which aims to raise awareness and funds, she has also been advising the council on simple changes it could make such as providing people with a booklet with information about how they can get support and taxi funds, among other initiatives.

"We do not want to see families moved from hotel to hotel."

Barry Parsons, chair of the homes and housing delivery committee said: “Bristol remains in the grip of a housing crisis that is affecting every community across the city. Growing demand for housing, coupled with rising costs and shrinking availability of affordable homes, is pushing a growing number of households towards homelessness.

“We do not want to see families moved from hotel to hotel, which is why we are working hard to find a more sustainable way of providing safe and settled accommodation for those most in need. There is no single solution to the temporary accommodation crisis we and other councils face but it is clear that whilst the housing crisis continues to cast a shadow over the city, we will continue to face ongoing challenges in ensuring support is there for those who need housing,” ITV West Country reported in a recent article about Amanda’s show.

Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, gave a speech at the Labour Party Conference 2024 in September regarding the government’s plans to tackle housing. She said that Labour will introduce the Renters Reform Bill, starting a ‘council house building revolution’.

In addition, she said the new Labour government will “clamp down on damp and mouldy homes by bringing in Awaab’s Law in the social rented sector this autumn and we’ll extend it to the private rented sector too. We will consult and implement a new Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes, to end the scandal of homes being unfit to live in.

“We will also ensure social housing staff have the right skills and experience. And I will ensure 2.5 million housing association tenants in this country can hold their landlord to account for their high quality services and homes.

“So that repairs and complaints are handled faster, but more importantly, so social housing tenants are treated fairly.”