Edinburgh dad shares harsh reality of city's temporary accommodation

An Edinburgh dad is sharing his grim experience of the city's temporary accommodation in the hope that no parent will have to go through the same.

Julian Maddern and his three year old daughter - who has chronic lung disease - were placed in a bed and breakfast called 'Almond Lodge House' for three months while waiting for a house.

But he says the conditions were uninhabitable and he was scared for their safety every day.

He told Forth News: "There are active addicts in there, using there and then. There's domestic violence, people with mental health issues. All of this is going on all while I'm trying to keep my daughter safe.

"The fear is having fighting outside your door, no water or electric. I never slept in there, I was like a security guard cause I did not know what things would happen to my daughter. I was also scared of her picking up germs cause she has a really low immune system.

"I was in there for three months, I shouldn't have even been in there one day with my daughter. If I was on my own I would understand. There was some people in there for 14 months and we ended up with 3 or 4 suicides cause they felt like nobody was recognising them."

Housing and Economy Convener, Councillor Kate Campbell, said: “A key priority for us is to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families. Ultimately we want to end the use of B&B altogether – but this will take time.

"In the meantime we are committed to making sure that all temporary accommodation is of the highest standard possible. That’s why since last autumn we’ve improved the B&B contract so that access to cooking facilities, food storage and a washing machine are requirements.

"If any concerns are raised we will always make sure these are thoroughly investigated and we will take action where needed.

“We face significant pressures in terms of housing but we’re doing everything we can to find alternatives to B&Bs, improve conditions for families, and increase the number of flats available as temporary accommodation.

"We’re already seeing the number of families in B&Bs coming down, as well as the length of time spent in B&Bs."