pregnant, 20 and possibly homeless. council housing?

[princesscupcakesxo]

Hi, i'm not 100% sure how this site works but here's my situation:
I'm 20, single and i'm 4 months pregnant, I live at home with my mother and two siblings. Me and my mum haven't got along for many years, we constantly fight (physically and verbally) Before I got pregnant I was applying to universities (all outside london) just to avoid being at home and it felt like I was finally gonna be 'free'. My mum has threatened to kick me out many times and tells me shes willing to write a letter to the council to say she's kicking me out. My question is:

Is it worth the struggle of moving out while pregnant and being temporary housed? I know eventually it'll be permanent but my family seems to think if I move out I wont go uni and amount to anything.

I think about staying but I suffer from depression and I feel like my mother makes it 10 times worse. I'm scared if I dont leave now I wont ever get the chance to until I can afford my own house privately.

My BD lives in portsmouth for university so his kind of out of the question when it comes to housing.

I heard that in London when you apply as homeless they send you out of London, a women I know was moved to manchester l. So have a think about it, would you be happy moving so far away with no support what so ever around you?

@princesscupcakesxo if they're abusive to you, you need to think about the safety of the baby. Personally I'd get the hell out of there. You can always put your name down and then change your mind later. You'd already been planning to leave so I think you know that this living situation is very wrong. Stay strong and do it. You will make it work. Wherever you end up you'll be able to meet people through baby groups and could even do a college / university course whilst looking after your baby (you may be entitled to help with childcare). Don't give up on yourself and don't let your family ruin your life. Good luck!

Can you contact your local authority or find advice on where to look for council housing? I used homes direct online, they will put you into a banding and you can bid on properties. It might be worth looking into.

I would strongly recommend getting your own place and getting settled indipendantly but maybe close to family/ support (as much as you might not want to)
You will get help with benefits which will help pay rent etc. Until you can get on your feet. I would recommend going to the council / job centre / citesens advice to see where to start and what you are entitled to.
Get yourself sorted in your own place but as I said, keep local to family if possible because babies are hard work and you will be happy for some help when you really need it. I'm just moving out of my parents place now (I was made homeless after escaping abusive relationship) and I can't live with family!!! Our relationship is 10000x better when we don't live under the same roof

Wow I never thought about being moved out so far especially because I’m only now learning how to drive, I would like to work weekends so I wanted to be able to drop the baby off on the weekend. Hmm :(

Thank you so much for th advice! I’m going to research and see who I need to contact, I was just scared because technically I’m not homeless yet and didn’t I want them to think I’m making myself homeless unnecessarily. But I definitely want the help from my siblings etc because they don’t work weekends and I’d like to do part time working just to have more money so I was hoping I’m not too far so they can help me. I can defiantly relate to not being able to live under the same roof as them, as I do love them but I need my own space more than ever now. Thank you so much!

@HidCat
Thank you so much for your supportive words. I was most scared because people would say it wouldn’t work but these days I’m leaning more towards sticking to my decision, I’m going to make the first step an get my name written down on the housing list and do a lot more reaearch.

The council may offer a mother and baby unit. This is usually temporary (up to when baby is one) but there is usually support and advice on site which can help you onto the next stage (and lots of other new mums so you can make friends and support one another).

Drop the baby off? Where with your abusive family? That really isn't a great idea