Each night, after using the communal bathroom, Emma tiptoed down the corridor to her bedroom, closed the door and, with all her strength, pushed her chest of drawers up against it. Then she waited.
After five years, she had escaped the clutches of her ex-husband, who dragged her down flights of stairs by her hair and plunged her into thousands of pounds of debt. Now Emma hoped to find safety in supported housing known as “exempt accommodation”, for the most vulnerable members of society such as those with mental health issues, the homeless and those leaving care or prison.
