“I can’t believe how far we’ve come” - Eve’s story
Eve, 49, left Ireland for Leeds in December 2024 when she fled an abusive relationship. Here, she tells us how support from Leeds Irish Health and Homes helped her and her daughter start a new chapter.
When Eve made contact with Leeds Irish Health and Homes, she was living with a relative in Leeds - however, she’d already been homeless for a year.
“After my relationship broke down, I had to leave the home we owned together and went into a women’s refuge in Ireland,” explains Eve. Three months later, she had to declare herself homeless and was moved into emergency accommodation.
The conditions, she says, were appalling. “It was supposed to be for families, but it didn’t feel safe; I didn’t feel I could leave my daughter there alone.”
After a short stay in a friend’s holiday let - “It was so kind of her, but it wasn’t really winter accommodation. And when her husband found a nest of rats in the roof I had a bit of a breakdown” - Eve realised she had to go back to England.
“I stayed to try to keep my daughter in her school - she did her Junior Cert while we were in the hostel,” she says. “But I just couldn’t do it any longer.”
She arrived in Leeds a month before Christmas. “I was in a bad way when I first met Jamie,” says Eve. “I was so lucky that my aunt had taken us in, but we really needed our own space for a fresh start.”
Jamie helped Eve get approved for Child Benefit - a vital stepping stone to securing council housing. “Somehow he managed to get someone to ring me back,” says Eve. Jamie also provided a reference to the housing association, and Eve accepted a property shortly afterwards.
Jamie also referred Eve to Leeds and Moortown Furniture Shop. “I got a few bits for the house including our beds which was brilliant,” she says. “He was messaging me every week, just to check in and see if there was anything I needed.”
As Eve’s daughter prepared to start her A-levels, Jamie asked if there was anything else Leeds Irish Health and Homes could do to help. “She needed a calculator and it was quite expensive. There were two models - a standard, cheaper one and a more modern one. I said we didn’t mind, just whatever he was able to get.”
A couple of weeks later, Jamie called to Eve’s new address with the calculator: “He’d got her the newer model and had her name engraved on the back of it,” Eve says. “It was such a kind gesture.”
“He’d got her the newer model and had her name engraved on the back of it. It was such a kind gesture. ”
Things are looking up: Eve has joined a sewing and mending group and is having some group therapy. “I sometimes still feel like an imposter, like I don’t deserve help,” she says. “But I know that’s because of the years I spent being controlled and gaslit.”
Eve’s daughter has started her A-levels and is interested in pursuing medicine or veterinary science. “She started her GCSEs in January, sat them in May and averaged grade 8s,” she says. “She’s done amazingly.”
Eve is also working with a job coach. “My dream is to open a tattoo studio,” she says. “Somewhere where women - and more mature women in particular - feel comfortable and welcome.”
“I’ve had such a warm welcome in Leeds - from the social prescriber at the doctors, to the Behind Closed Doors domestic abuse charity and Leeds Irish Health and Homes,” Eve says. “I’m so grateful to everyone who’s helped us.”
“I can’t believe how far we’ve come.”
Struggling with housing in Leeds? We may be able to help. Contact us by emailing info@lihh.org or calling 0113 262 5614.