'Homelessness happens to normal people ...', 'People from all walks of life are at risk ...' It's a chilling thought, and one that is sensitively addressed in No Place to Call Home, the true-life story of a woman who has experienced homelessness on several occasions, never through any fault of her own. Katey Pilling first experienced homelessness when she was just eight years old. Her parents had split up and, leaving three much older children in Lancashire with their father, her mother had taken her to live in Wales. She struggled to put a roof over their heads, and mother and daughter moved from pillar to post: sleeping on friends' floors; staying in a B&B where they had to be out of the house between ten o'clock and five o'clock every day; living in a hostel, sharing meagre facilities with other families. The constant moves, from one place to another, from one school to another, with no solid base, no close support network of friends and family, created a sense of insecurity that Pilling still feels thirty years later. It also undoubtedly contributed to the mental health problems she experienced in her teens, which linger on in a tendency towards depression and anxiety, and possibly also to the physical ill-health she has suffered, with asthma, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome often being linked to stress. Pilling is a woman of extraordinary determination, with an ability to sustain hope, whatever the circumstances. When she had her own daughter, she was determined to provide her with a secure home and the stability she herself had lacked as a child. But fate is fickle. When her daughter was just five, they were made homeless, and she found herself ill, stuck in temporary accommodation with a small child, too far away from her friends. Still she didn't give up. She found a permanent home. She took a degree in anthropology. She started volunteering for Shelter Cymru, the organisation that had helped and supported her. Now she works for the same charity as a research officer, giving speeches on homelessness at big conferences, smaller events, even at the Houses of Parliament. Pilling's story is heart-warming, uplifting and inspirational, but it is also very clear about the misery and long-term effects of being homeless. It doesn't gloss things over. It doesn't judge people for their homelessness. If there is any judgement, it is of a society that fails to provide that most basic of human rights - a secure place to live. Included in the excellent Quick Reads series and published with the support of Shelter Cymru, this slim book is full of wisdom and understanding. It also includes an invaluable final section providing a Survival Guide, some useful contact numbers, and information on the wealth of services provided by Shelter Cymru. But it is not a book aimed solely at homeless people. Its scope is much broader than that, challenging people's concept of homelessness and combatting stigma. It's a book that everyone should read. -- Suzy Ceulan Hughes @ www.gwales.com
