“We were financially stable and comfortable when we had my daughter, and then we ended up homeless and with debts and bills coming in.” - Aimee’s story

Aimee had built a comfortable life with her husband and their three-year-old son. They were looking forward to welcoming their baby daughter into the world when, just weeks before she was due to be born, they were pushed into homelessness. We spoke to Aimee to hear how the support she received from Barnardo’s helped get her and her family back on their feet and into a stable home.

“Things can change in the blink of an eye” 

“I think it’s really important to remember that people’s financial situations can change so quickly,” Aimee explains. “You see a lot of negativity on social media, and people will ask: ‘Why are you having kids if you can’t afford them?’. But things can change in the blink of an eye. We were financially stable and comfortable when we had my daughter, and then we ended up homeless and with debts and bills coming in. Everything can hit you at once, and it was through no fault of our own. There’s a lot of judgment and misconceptions out there and I don’t think a lot of people understand the realities.” 

“Since having the kids, I think we’ve become a lot smarter with our money, but you can only be smart to a certain extent. When your income is the same as your outgoings, there’s only so much you can shift. So, there has definitely been times when we’ve come close to the limit.” 

Struggling with the cost of heating and eating 

With two young children, everyday essentials became harder to manage, including needing to keep the house warm for the little ones. 

“Especially since having kids, keeping our house warm is really important,” she says. “Previously, me and my husband would bundle up together and wear extra layers to keep ourselves warm, but when you have a toddler and a baby, it’s a lot different. You can’t allow your baby to be cold, and my daughter has a mild heart defect which means she gets cold really easily. Especially since she was born, we’ve found it’s costing us a lot more to keep the house warm.” 

The cost of buying the right food for their children is another thing the family struggles with. The specialist foods Aimee’s son needs because of his allergies are far more expensive than regular options, sometimes costing twice as much, which puts even more pressure on the family’s budget. 

“Something else that affects us is the cost of food. My son has allergies, which means we have to buy specific products for him. He’s allergic to milk, eggs, and soya, so everything he eats has to be safe for him. But the alternatives in the supermarket cost a lot more money - sometimes double the price. 

“We use a food card* for our shopping, but a lot of the alternative products my son needs aren’t covered by it, which is really frustrating. We use it for fruit and vegetables because they also cost a fortune. That’s just the way it is. The cost of all that food and not getting any support for it is really tough. It’s something we had no clue about before he was born but we’ve had to navigate.” 

Finding a lifeline through Barnardo’s support groups 

Before reaching crisis point, Aimee started attending our support groups after finding out more about the support we had available. 

“I came in touch with Barnardo’s when I was working for a charity called The Why Not Trust, which offers a service for care-experienced parents. We did a joint event with Barnardo’s which I got involved with and from then, I started attending the Barnardo’s support groups.” 

When homelessness hit, that support became critical. 

“Barnardo’s helped us when my husband and I became homeless in January 2025. They helped us find a house really quickly in March, just before our daughter was born in April.” 

With our help, Aimee and her family were able to move into their new home just before their baby arrived. 

“Barnardo’s has also helped us massively with financial advice and support, as well as the emotional support we get from the group. I know I can call our support worker, Donna, at any point and she’ll chat with me for as long as I need.” 

“On top of that support, the social aspect of the group has been amazing for me and the kids. It gives us a bit of routine and structure to get out of the house. If we’re having a bad week, we can go along to the Barnardo’s group because it’s a place where we feel comfortable. It’s been brilliant.” 

Our support meant Aimee could bring her newborn daughter home to stability, so she could start building the foundations her daughter needed to thrive.  

*A ‘food card’ is a prepaid card for the NHS Healthy Start scheme (or Best Start Foods in Scotland), which helps eligible low-income pregnant women and families with young children buy healthy food and milk. 

Aimee’s story is real, but models have been used to protect the identity of the people we support.