Guest blog – For me, home is where love begins

The 7th October is the first day of Challenge Poverty Week in Scotland - a time to raise awareness and speak out against poverty. One major issue for people living on a low income, or in poverty, is having a safe and happy place to call home.

Home, for me, means that love begins there. It's a place for my kids and me to rest. Housing is so important for everyone – we all need a safe place to live. You need to be warm and protected from the rain, wind, and hot sun.

The cost of housing affects my life a lot. Every month, I have to think about paying the rent, which takes up nearly half my income. It’s tough. It really impacts my mental health, constantly worrying about balancing my wages and keeping a roof over my family's head.

We need the Scottish government to do more to help people and reduce this stress. Life is really hard when you’re a single mum with no family nearby, no partner to rely on, raising kids and working part-time. I hope we get more support for mental health and well-being.

Everything in my home – the cooker, the showers, the washing machine – all runs on electricity, and the costs add up quickly. We spend more than £100 a month on energy in summer, and I’m really worried about how much it will cost in winter here in Scotland. The nights are really cold, and I need to make sure the house is warm for my children before they leave for school. It’s a constant worry. As a single parent, this stress is even harder to deal with alone.

I hope that in the future, housing prices won’t keep going up in Scotland, and that there will be more help for people with their bills. We’re still feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, with the prices of everything rising. We need security for the future and a commitment from the government to end poverty.

Nanda is a parent taking part in Changing Realities, a collaboration between parents and carers living on a low-income, researchers at University of York and Child Poverty Action Group. Changing Realities have recently released a programme for government: read it here.