An eight-year-old boy fears Santa Claus won’t be able to find him this Christmas after he was made homeless.
Marcel and his mum Sarah were moved into a hotel room by Cardiff City Council after they were ousted from their rented flat.
The widowed mother remembered her son asking: ‘How is Santa going to find me if we’re homeless?’
She told the BBC that no child should ever say that and that her son shouldn’t have to worry about Christmas or whether he’s going to get presents or not.
Marcel, who has learning difficulties, doesn’t understand why he no longer has his own room.
In a clip, Sarah shows the hotel room that they will call home for the time being.
She said that she was grateful for the room, but obviously, she didn’t want to remain there for a long time.
Around the double bed shared by the mother and son, their belongings can be seen stacked up on shelves and spread across the small accommodation.
Sarah explained Marcel isn’t able to sleep that much as he wakes up scared many nights due to the noise in the hotel.
Sarah told the BBC that he wakes up saying that he doesn’t like the dark and screaming.
She said that without routine, he just goes haywire and that it’s just meltdown after meltdown and then he kicks off and gets angry.
Sarah and Marcel are waiting for the council to find them somewhere permanent to live after they were evicted when their landlord sold up.
Marcel said that it gets a little bit lonely with no visitors and that pets are not allowed.
The Welsh government declared a ‘health crisis’ due to the number of people living in temporary accommodation.
Despite having a good pool of temporary housing for 1,700 families, Cardiff council claimed it was facing exceptional demand, forcing it to shelter 202 more households in five hotels across the city.
It said it was prioritising moves for those in hotels wherever possible, the BBC reported.
Marcel is unfortunately not alone, as a record total of nearly 4,000 children will be homeless in Ireland this Christmas.
Many are babies who will spend their first Christmas in life without a place they can call home.
Christmas should be a time of untroubled enjoyment and creating unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime, but sadly, homeless children will be stuck in emergency accommodation with no proper place to put up a tree, play or even have family and friends over to visit.
However, it is the landlord’s right to sell their property if they wish to do so, as long as they give that person notice. We shouldn’t be condemning them, but our Government for selling off all the housing stock.
I suppose at least they have a hotel room, it could have been a lot worse, they could have been sleeping on the streets this Christmas because numerous families with their children will be sleeping on the streets this Christmas and it’s appalling because our Government are doing nothing about it, and I’m sure Rishi Sunak isn’t losing a nights sleep over it!
Boat people are being housed rather more quickly than someone who has lived in the United Kingdom all their life. People on the waiting list can wait at least 10 years for a property. Our Government’s priorities are all messed up, and I’m sure they’re determined to destroy this country altogether and they’re almost there.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 