For the first 15 years of her life, Chloe-Ellie Britton had a normal childhood. Her mum, a single parent, always made sure she and her brother were fed and clothed and she and Chloe had a close relationship. “She always fought for stuff we wanted,” Chloe said. “I had a horse when I was younger and me and my brother used to do shows in horseriding. I had a normal life - going to the farm every day, just little things. I didn’t even think about drink, I wouldn’t do anything like that.”
But, the day before her fifteenth birthday, the life that Chloe had known came to an abrupt end when her mother died suddenly. “It was the day before my fifteenth birthday. She died on June 8 and I turned 15 on June 9,” Chloe said. A year later, aged just 16, Chloe found herself among one of the youngest residents at Ty Seren, a Taff Housing Association women's hostel in Cardiff.
With her brother living in England, she had found herself at a loss for what to do and where to go. “I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was just lost, like ‘Where do I go from here?’”, she recalls. After being taken on by Ty Seren, Chloe was given a room in the hostel and recalls the first day she arrvived.
