Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned   17 3.4 Having a home The four participants who are on support have accommodation. Of the four, only Enaya (Palestine) has problems with her accommodation. Enaya and her daughter have been living in a studio flat for more than two years. The flat is tiny, with room only for two beds, a wardrobe and a fridge. It is not suitable for a young child. Enaya has letters from social services saying the accommodation is unsuitable and too small. The Home Office has admitted it is the wrong flat for them, but has not moved them. Enaya sobs quietly and says: “It feels very bad living there.” The remaining 11 participants have to make do. Some live with partners, some with friends, some sleep rough and some are constantly on the move. 3.4.1 Living with a partner Samir (Algeria) has been living with his girlfriend for the past year. Before that, he moved around from friend to friend or slept outside: Yes, too many friends, I was sleeping. Sometimes two or three days I slept outside because I had nowhere to go. Yes, I remember three, four days when I slept outside, and it was wintertime. (Samir, Algeria) Anwar (Somalia) has a partner and they have two children. He sometimes stays with his partner, but he does not want to be a burden to her: It is pressure when you live with someone and you don’t have anything to produce to help her. She is giving all this money, but she don’t have nothing…. She is struggling for life... She can’t pay the electricity sometimes…. How do I stay with her? It’s hard, because I can’t produce; I can’t produce nothing inside of the house. She has too much bills. Maybe I can bring something if I work.... Because I love her. So I need to do something for her, to be with her... but I’m struggling with that. (Anwar, Somalia) When Anwar is not with his partner, he lives with different people: I have to find someone to help me. I live in the sitting room, sometimes on the couch. (Anwar, Somalia) 3.4.2 Living with friends Many of our refused asylum seekers rely on friends at some point for accommodation. One of the staff members in Glasgow has a client who “lives with ten different people – he just bounces from place to place” (Red Cross staff member Glasgow 1). Violet (Zimbabwe) is currently living with a friend. Sometimes she lives with relatives outside of Leicester, but she always comes back to Leicester because she is used to the city. Violet described the difficulties of not having your own home: You can’t be yourself in somebody else’s home. I don’t have a room of my own. I live on the sofa. You can’t have your own things. I’m happy to have somewhere to live, but not as happy as when you have your own place. (Violet, Zimbabwe) In Teesside, the Red Cross staff member reported: “They might have a network of friends that they rely on”. However, she stressed that relying on friends all the time is not easy: After a number of years, I think they feel like they’re putting pressure on people, because they can’t bring anything. They’re not getting support, so they can’t even sort of contribute to the household, if you like. They feel like they’re running out of options, because they feel like they’re a burden, and they feel like people are getting fed up of putting them up. (Red Cross staff member, Teesside) According to the Red Cross staff member in Leeds, people “will go into periods where they don’t have any friends that can support them”. 3.4.3 Sleeping rough Aman (Iraq) is not in good health and has problems with his kidneys. He has been sleeping rough for more than a year: It’s been one year and six months I’m living rough. I have no accommodation…. If I was fit, no health problem, it’s okay if I live rough outside. But myself, my situation, I am an unhealthy man. I have a lot of problems, and this is not suitable place for me to live outside. It’s very hard. (Aman, Iraq) Faheem (Palestine) has been homeless for a few months and lives on the street. The Red Cross refugee service in Birmingham has given him a sleeping bag. Except for a period during 2014–15 when he had support, Joshua (Ethiopia) has been sleeping rough since 2005. I used to sleep in town in a doorway, at the back of a hotel. They tried to block the way in.