Real Life Roomsets

Channah' story

Homeless after being served a no-fault eviction notice that meant she had to leave her private rental, Channah and her three daughters were forced to live in a room like this. 

Can you imagine four people living here?

Channah had to sleep on a pull-out mattress while the others shared the bunk beds. The space, or lack of it, had a detrimental effect on everyone. Channah’s sixteen-year-old daughter struggled at school. Jasmine, the oldest daughter had nowhere to study and was forced to sit on the toilet while preparing for her exams. The bathroom was cold, making her feet go numb and the mould exacerbated her asthma. As if this weren’t enough, the family had to put up with constant invasions of privacy and had their belongings searched by complete strangers.

Channah’s story isn’t unique. Thousands of families are stuck in places like this because they have nowhere else to go. IKEA have joined forces with Shelter to highlight this issue and call on the government to build 90,000 new social homes a year. By 2030, our aim is to ensure that half-a-million people will have a better life at home.

Channah's room was represented in IKEA's Warrington store