I believe in living a conscientious life; in taking stock of how you're doing holistically to ensure that you're content with yourself. I think I find joy in being connected to something bigger than me! It's important to stay connected and remain intentional in how we treat ourselves and other people.
I moved to the UK from Mexico last year. I initially came on a short visit but ended up having to stay here because of the lockdown. My parents live in Spain and it felt like the right thing to move back to Europe and be closer to them. I'm currently living in temporary accommodation with my 3 children that Southwark council is supporting with. When I first arrived I did my best to look for private accommodation for us all, but it was really difficult and really expensive. They required previous landlord recommendations and a host of things I just didn't have. I eventually started looking into other routes to find housing for my family, but unfortunately, I was defrauded out of over £1000 by a fake agency. That was a really hard thing to go through. It set me back quite a bit and I had no idea how I was going to find a suitable place.
I approached Citizens Advice and they told me that I was entitled to support from the council. That's how I ended up in this temporary accommodation. The housing market in London is such a difficult thing to get your head around, which can be really scary if you're newly arriving here and don't have anyone to tell you how things work.
For the first time in my life, I didn't feel empowered because of my housing situation. This is probably the hardest obstacle I've faced in my life. It's like a spiral. I'm fortunate to have been working for the time that I've been in the UK, but I can see how so many people end up with a domino effect of issues if they don't have a job or a support network in a big city like London.
It feels like a miracle that I've heard about Beam. I didn't see organisations like this in Mexico. I owned a housing co-operative for 10 years there and did my part to support the community, but the issue was never-ending. I can see that there are housing issues globally, especially now that I'm living through my own problems. I will say that It's incredible to see local governments working with organisations here to help people that are having housing problems. I'll be donating back to help people coming after me.
My dream is to become a midwife and join Médecins Sans Frontières one day. I worked as a doula in Mexico and loved it. When people are giving birth It's like time stops, mothers should be able to feel all of that magic and understand what their bodies are doing.
I'm excited about launching my campaign because it means I can move into secure housing. It also means that I'll be on the path of studying what I want to with peace of mind that my children and I are safe and well.