We won't spend another Christmas without a home

DAVID CARLIN and his wife Julie were not long married, had their own home and, like most young couples, an active social life. It was the icing on the cake when their beautiful daughter Jessica was born and Julie decided to leave her stressful full-time job to spend time with baby.

But David was struggling to get regular work as a builder and, because they were now relying on his salary, the debts quickly began to mount. Julie became pregnant with their second child Ryan and even though she did some part-time work and they sold her flat when they moved in together, she hadn't owned it long enough to make any profit and what little she got back was eaten up in solicitor's fees. The couple decided they had no option but to sell their home in Meadowbank to clear their debts. However the property sold faster than they expected and suddenly in February 1999 they found themselves having to move out - but with no money and nowhere to go.

Julie, 37, scoops up their third daughter Millie, aged two, as she recalls: "We didn't want to sell the flat but we didn't know what to do and had no advice. We were panic-stricken. I was pregnant again and we had no idea where we were going."

David, 48, takes up the story: "The day we were leaving Meadowbank the furniture lorry came and I went up to the council offices and was offered the choice of two sets of keys - one for a flat in Oxgangs and another for a flat in Leith. I took the flat in Leith."

Julie adds: "It was very unsettling. We were told to take the television and some clothes and our furniture was put in storage."

The pair did not settle easily in the high rise block they were re-housed in. In fact their flat in Cables Wynd House, better known by its nickname of the "banana flats" was a disaster from the start.

"For me the area was the worst," says Julie. "I didn't like being away from what was familiar and not knowing how long we would be there or whether we could unpack our bags. There was also no privacy. The accommodation officer could come into the house at any time."

The furniture, from the sofa to the bed mattresses, was covered in plastic and there was a poster on the door laying down the rules. "It wasn't a home at all," says Julie.

Nights were punctuated with the sounds of shouting from other flats and the wail of police sirens outside. Even going out was a fraught experience. David says: "One day my wife and daughter were walking down the stairs and there were two young men knocking nine bells out of each other."

Ryan was born three weeks after they moved in and Julie, who by this stage was crying all the time and on antidepressants, used to take the children to the nearby play park. "Junkies would come up to me and ask if I had any drugs. I'm not naive but I was bewildered that anyone would approach you in the swing park."

Julie says homelessness has affected Jessica, now ten. "The homelessness experience made Jessica become more sensitive to things. I'd never been a mummy that shouted but I did change. She resented Ryan because she would have assumed it was him that made the difference because she was too young to grasp the move."

James Jopling, head of campaigns at Shelter Scotland says homelessness has a huge effect on families, and in particular children. "For them, it can mean a major upheaval, for example, if they have to move schools. It can sometimes mean they perform less well at school, or that they have problems."

The Carlins remained in the flat for seven months till they accepted a council flat, where they experienced similar problems. Their luck changed when Julie landed a job at a local church - with a home attached.

Both are determined never to be homeless again. David now has a degree and is working as an art technician.

Children brush up for show

CHILDREN affected by homelessness have depicted what it feels like to be homeless in a new exhibition.

The children, who are supported by Shelter's Edinburgh Families Project, have been involved in an art group run by artist David Carlin, who was homeless himself.

James Jopling, head of campaigns at Shelter Scotland, said: "The likes of the art exhibition gives children something to focus on and an outlet for their emotion."

At any one time around 750 homeless families and single people are living in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh.

A council spokeswoman said no-one was forced to sleep rough. She said: "While some people may choose to continue to sleep rough, emergency accommodation is always available."

'It just takes one thing to happen . .'

Lee Cassidy, 27, and her children Shannon, seven, and Rhys, two, were homeless for three months this year:

LEE'S heart sank as she watched her toddler tossing and turning in the strange bed. The car-print duvet cover Rhys loved was still packed away and the youngster was disconcerted by the unfamiliar bedding at the stop-gap, two-bedroom flat the family had been allocated.

It was bad enough that they'd been forced to move out of their much-loved family home after their private landlord raised the rent. But seeing her baby son in so much discomfort on his first night in a new room heightened Lee's own distress.

The single mum recalls: "We were all unsettled that night. We'd been given a house but we weren't able to make it home because it wasn't permanent. We'd even had to put our cat, who's like a member of the family, into kennels. But the worst part was the sparcity of things and being in a totally different area."

Lee was recovering from postnatal depression, had just got a qualification in administration and was on the verge of getting a job at the local primary school when the family were made homeless for three months in April this year.

"I was devastated," she admits of her move to temporary accommodation. "When the job came up at the school I thought I was set - but because I lost the house I was forced to move to the other side of town and journey to and from work would have taken too long."

The council accommodation in south west Edinburgh was a half-hour bus ride from the family's old place in East Edinburgh. Shannon, seven, had to start a different school and Rhys had to leave his toddlers' group.

But having recently left the council flat she was allocated in July, Lee is now happy in a privately-let flat that is too small for the family's needs, but in the area she prefers. She is grateful for the support she received from Shelter Scotland.

Shannon has told her classmates she was homeless and the artwork she has done about the experience features in Shelter Scotland's exhibition. But Lee feels embarrassed to have been homeless. "People have the stereotypical image of homeless persons as on the streets, involved in drug and alcohol abuse. But we are a normal family with views and goals. It just takes one thing to happen and you can fall into difficulties."