A VULNERABLE young victim of domestic violence was told by the council to sleep rough because she was too afraid to bed down at a city hostel.

 

Louise Hudson fled her former boyfriend's flat after he subjected her to sickening abuse for more than a year.

The 21-year-old went to the Hamish Allan Centre, a council-run emergency accommodation centre, hoping that they could put a roof over her head.

However, they offered her a bed at a hostel in Govan where her abusive boyfriend and his family are from.

Fearing for her safety Louise pleaded with council workers to find her alternative accommodation but she was told to contact a charity for a free sleeping bag and take to the streets.

Originally from Kirkintilloch, Louise spent most of her teenage years in care.

She explained: "My mum couldn't look after me properly and she used to hit me. There were a lot of problems at home. It was tough.

"I was taken into care when I was 14 and I was just shipped about. I was in one foster home which was alright but because I was their first teenager it was too hard for them and I was put back into another home."

After Louise was released from care aged 19 she went back to her mum's house in Kirkintilloch but was only there for a fortnight.

Fighting back tears she said: "It didn't work out. I ended up sleeping in a neighbour's shed for two nights.

"The council up there gave me a homeless flat and I was fine for a while, until I moved in with my boyfriend in Glasgow.

"I thought he was a nice guy but he started beating me up. He'd push me around, punch me, kick me, bite me. At one point he slammed me down on the bed so hard that it collapsed.

"It was my first serious relationship so I thought it was normal."

After speaking to a friend who fled domestic abuse she found the courage to pack a bag and leave but she claims the council failed to support her.

"I ended up at the Hamish Allan Centre and I explained that I was homeless and I had no family to take me in.

"They told me the only place they could put me was in temporary accommodation in Govan. My ex-boyfriend is from there and his mum lives just around the corner.

"I felt that it wasn't a safe option and asked them to find me something else. I told them I didn't feel safe going there. I felt I'd be vulnerable and an easy target.

"They told me to go around the streets of the city centre, find a charity that gives sleeping bags to the homeless and sleep rough.

"At that point I wasn't being nice anymore. I told them I'd write a letter and keep it on my person so that if I was found dead it would explain why I was sleeping rough."

For the next seven nights Louise was on the city streets, completely alone.

She said: "I basically just walked around the town for an entire week. I got some sleep here and there, in doorways, under tunnels and mostly at Glasgow Green in a play park.

"It was really cold and it rained sometimes but I didn't see the point in going back to the Hamish Allan Centre.

If I saw anyone that looked dodgy I did whatever I could to get away. I made sure I was always on my own because I was worried I'd get raped.

"I avoided all the alley ways. I just tried to go to where there was no one at all. I didn't really eat for the entire week."

After a week on the streets a Good Samaritan offered Louise the use of a phone in a fast food restaurant and she found a flat in the east end.

She explained: "I used the free Wi-Fi in Macdonald's to apply online for a flat. I explained the situation and the landlady phoned me back straight away.

"I told her I couldn't afford a deposit and she said I could sort it out later. I've been there for the last nine months.

"It's a nice flat but there is dampness and no central heating. It costs me about £100 a fortnight on electricity to run an old oil heater someone gave me.

"I try to buy food but I don't really have enough money so I often go to charities for hand outs. I don't mind because at least I've got a safe place to call home."

Louise pays for the flat with housing benefit but she's keen to get back to work now that she has some stability.

She has enrolled on a tenancy sustainability course provided free of charge by Glasgow homelessness charity The Marie Trust.

Louise said: "I used to work. Because I was beaten up so much I trained to be a security guard. I need to get my house sorted out and find a new job now. I just want to be happy and maybe have a bit of money.

"When I can afford it I buy about twenty cheeseburgers from my benefits and give them out to homeless people.

"When I have a job I want to do more to help homeless people because I know what it's like to be on the streets."

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