'I came to Manchester with the hope things would be different, but they weren't'

Speaking from a city centre park surrounded by her four children, Sophie Fassa should be enjoying a spring afternoon in the holidays.

But she can't. Sophie, a single mum of four, has been homeless for roughly a fortnight now.

That started when the family left their flat in Glasgow — which had been home for nine years — as Sophie says it was beset by mould problems that she claims was ‘affecting my son’s health’.

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“The first time they repaired it but it came back and there was mould and damage and it was affecting my son’s health,” she said. “I decided to leave because [my landlord] did not want to relocate me. It was a major issue needing repair. I ended the tenancy hoping I would find somewhere.”

Having decided to up sticks, the family went to Edinburgh where they were told the council couldn’t help. Sophie then decided to travel south of the border, hoping for something to change.

“I came to Manchester with a big hope that maybe things will be different but it’s not what happened,” she sighs. “I really need help to find accommodation. I have nowhere to stay anymore.”

It was a journey of 215 miles. But now she only has two options.

One is to spend another night on Mancunian streets, because she is ‘running out of money’ for B&Bs; the other is to head another 174 miles back north to Glasgow.

That’s because Manchester City Council does not have a ‘duty to house’ Sophie and her children aged four, 12, 13, and 15 as ‘the family do not have a connection to Manchester’, a spokesperson said.

But it hasn’t left her out in the cold, they added. “We have already offered support, including travel costs and a hotel on route, to facilitate