Ceyda (29) moved to a one bedroom flat in Hornsey 18 months ago with her husband and two young sons some months after the bathroom ceiling collapsed in their studio flat in Muswell Hill.
“It was lucky we weren’t at home when it happened,” she says.
It took the council several weeks to even come and look at the bathroom, says Ceyda, in which time she had to use the toilet facilities in the cafes in Muswell Hill for her children, now aged three and five years.
Eventually the family moved to a one bedroom flat in Hornsey which is an improvement on the studio although still not big enough for a family of four.
The first time Ceyda visited the foodbank was at the start of lockdown. Her husband works as a barber and being at home was a nightmare for him, she explains.
Applying for Universal Credit was also very difficult as he doesn’t have a British passport. Although he has been in the UK for more than six years, he had to prove he’d been here for more than 12 months before he could apply.
“It was working out for me before the pandemic,” says Ceyda. “But as soon as lockdown began it was going wrong for me.”
Apart from her husband being unable to work, the TV had to be repaired during the first week of lockdown. Then the cooker broke down during Ramadan. Her first Universal Credit payment when it finally came through went on a new cooker.
Ceyda is philosophical about her problems though.
“It’s a good way of testing myself and the family,” she says. “Money is second place now. My mental health and my kids’ mental health is the important thing. Half a cup of soup is enough for me as long as they’re happy.
“And knowing I can get help from strangers is a big help.”
Ceyda has a law diploma and was working as a paralegal when she had her first child, returning to work when he was six months. When her second son was born, she wanted to work part time but couldn’t find part time work. Her mother looked after her older son when she was at work but couldn’t manage two of them. The family had to rely on her husband who was working in a bakery at night and cutting hair during the day.
Ceyda says the family can’t manage on one income. She had started an accountancy course before lockdown which she is intending to complete and then look for work. And she is hoping her husband will be able to return to work in July.
“We’re not after big money,” she says, “as long as we can manage at the end of the month.”