Music makes me so happy, as well as dancing and playing with my daughter. Spending time with her gives me the strength to move forward.
We are currently live in a women's refuge. The reason we’re here is become I'm a victim of domestic violence. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but thankfully two very supportive women gave me the strength to do it. I owe them my life, and I now want to be an independent woman and mother who can work to give my daughter the happy life that she deserves.
We’ve been in the refuge for the last 13 months and we share this house with other women in similar situations. In many ways it’s been a really stressful time, as it's hard to make progress towards being independent. As I don't work, it's difficult to find accommodation and because I'm on benefits it's hard to find a landlord who will accept us. I've been trying so hard until now but without success.
I'm working with Beam who are supporting me with my housing and funding me to study to become a teaching assistant in the future. I really love to work with children and I was working as a teacher in my country before coming here, so I have experience and know it’s something I’m good at! While I'm doing the course, Beam are also supporting me to get into work as a supermarket assistant so I can cover our budget.
The next steps for me are finding a place to live for me and my daughter. In the future, I want to earn enough money so that I can buy my own house where we can live happily and be even more independent. I’m feeling excited and hopeful that I can now move in this direction and that our future is going to be positive!