Winter appeal: ‘My world came crashing down when I returned home to find I had been evicted’ [Video]

I was having a week of fun and volunteering at The World Transformed festival in Liverpool, which ran alongside the Labour Party conference in October 2023. I was working on the TV and digital platforms of the festival and presenting shows for the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities about homelessness. I had lost my phone but I was still having a great time with friends seeking to bring about radical change. However, my world came crashing down when I returned home to find my private landlord had changed the locks of my London flat. I had been given no warning that I was about to be evicted.

In a state of panic, I ran to a family member’s home with all my stuff from my trip and no access to my clothes or passport, which was locked in the house. I went to the local council and that was when I …