When Halima’s* parents moved back to Somalia she was 19, and thought: “God forbid, I’m not going there. I’m living my best life.” The reality of living unmoored was not so positive.
Within months, she had joined the ranks of the hidden homeless, couch surfing with friends. With a roof over her head, albeit barely, the London borough she had lived in for 20 years didn’t consider her vulnerable enough for social housing, yet her lack of fixed address meant she couldn’t sign on to universal credit.
