An 11 year-old girl dropped a heartbreaking note at Labour MP Stephen Timms’ surgery in East Ham, London, asking for help over the family’s living situation.
The handwritten letter, which is has received an outpouring of support on social media, described how her family of seven is crammed into a one bedroom flat with no room to sleep or concentrate.
In it the girl says “nobody cares about me” and voices fears she will fail exams because of her living conditions.
She also describes being unable to go to friends’ birthday parties because they cannot return the invite.
The heartbreaking note says: “I live in a one bedroom flat and there are seven of us.
“I have not even had a good day because all this flat does is bring back bad memories.
“I sleep on the floor with my two older sisters and every night when my dad gets up to go to work he always has to turn on the light so he doesn’t step on us.
“Due to this I don’t get enough sleep and I can’t concentrate.
“This is absolutely ridiculous because I am doing my SATs in two months and I can’t concentrate in class.”
It continues: “I am falling behind in class and it’s because nobody cares about me and nobody wants to see me happy.
“I feel you don’t care because if you did you would help me.”
Handed in at my surgery on Friday. pic.twitter.com/CPf4GtJMdJ
— Stephen Timms (@stephenctimms) March 18, 2019
Describing the impact it has on their social life, the child wrote: “All of my friends invite me to their birthday parties however I am unable to come because I feel that if I come, they should be invited to my birthday but I can’t because I have no place in my house.
“I have never got to celebrate anything because of this stupid situation.
“You’d think that I am ashamed to say this because clearly I am really upset but I am sick and tired of being treated like this.
“Every day I see my mum crying and it makes me cry.
“I don’t like to speak about it but I have no choice otherwise nobody would help me and nobody will care about me.”
Mr Timms told Mirror Online: “More and more families are facing hardship like this, because they cannot obtain adequate housing. It’s time for a new programme of council house building.”
He said that he first wrote to the council way back in 2010, but because there are so many people on the waiting list, they are still in the one bedroomed flat.
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