ERICA FLEMING – A campaigner who spent 22 months living in homeless hotel accommodation with her young daughter – has moved into her new home.
Fleming became a campaigner on the issues facing homeless people after she appeared on the RTÉ Prime Time programme My Homeless Family last year.
She had been staying in emergency hotel accommodation with her daughter Emily for the past 22 months, after she lost her private rental accommodation when she was unable to afford the rent.
Speaking today to RTÉ’s Ray D’Arcy Show, Fleming said she had this morning turned the key on her new home after having been on the social housing waiting list for the past eight years.
“To be honest with you, even up until this morning I was still kind of anxious,” said Fleming.
I didn’t know whether this was going to happen or not – I was afraid to let myself be happy. But now I’m thrilled.
Fleming said she was delighted with the new home – which is a social housing unit managed by Dublin City Council. She spoke about the difficulties she faced over the past two years.
“I think up until this point you don’t allow yourself to feel how you feel,” she said.
“You don’t allow yourself to feel the emotion of being overwhelmed or upset because you’re just trying to get through each day.
And now that it’s come to the end of it, I’m after being crying loads today and it’s stupid because it’s so happy, do you know what I mean?
People took to Twitter to congratulate the young mother – who is currently studying on an Access Programme at Trinity College Dublin.
Speaking today, Fleming said she hoped to study English full-time at Trinity when she completed her Access Programme.
She wrote a strong piece in TheJournal.ie in August of last year defending herself against claims she had turned down social housing offers.
Fleming said that she would continue to campaign for homeless families and people until the homelessness issue was resolved.
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