Titti left a violent relationship – became homeless

One day Gull-Britt “Titti” Tingwall has enough. She sits locked in a bathroom and hears her partner drop an ax at the door.

She runs away through the window. Go to freedom.

– I had to do it. My last moment had come, Titti says today.

For several years she was with a violent man, she says. According to Titti, he attacked her with a crowbar and sent her to the hospital with a broken spleen.

After finally leaving, he was left homeless.

And Titti is not alone. According to the National Board of Health and National Welfare, a third of all women living in extreme poverty homeless come from violence in close relationships.

But now, after four years, Titti is finally looking forward to the future again.

– You can’t fight all the time. But now it feels like a shine, she says.

Titti emerged from a violent relationship

Titti grew up in Södermalm in Stockholm and in Älta in Nacka. She has three children. She says she used to live “a normal Svensson life”.

– The reason for my situation now is that I had a destructive relationship. I could never have dreamed that I would end up here homeless, Titti says.

He currently lives on social assistance. He says he has trouble working because of back problems. She also has a large rental debt, after an ex-boyfriend refused to leave her apartment.

It is also not unusual for homeless women.

Living in structural homelessness

This has contributed to Titti being far from the ordinary real estate market. She lives in what is called structural homelessness: homelessness that is not due to social problems, such as abuse or mental illness. For the past four years, she has been forced to jump between different places to sleep, but she has received a lot of help from her children and the father of one of them.

– Thanks to my family, I have not had to sleep on a staircase, but it has happened several times that I wandered around Stockholm at night. That I was out so as not to carry them.

You have been housed in an emergency shelter.

On February 6 of this year it was the turn: then Titti received a place in the BoKlara City Commission’s emergency housing. There she is allowed to stay until April 21, and after that she hopes to be housed in supportive housing.

– I just want a small place to live, with a roof. It can be anywhere. That is all I want. Do it myself Having my children, having my grandchildren. A normal situation, says Titti.

Through the Stockholm homeless unit, she has already been denied housing.

– They said it was too self-sufficient. Too healthy, simply.

But Titti is still hopeful. She has appealed the decision, which will be reviewed. She has temporary sleeping space, has met a person who will help her try to get rid of rent debt, and has close contact with her children.

Corona risks hitting homeless people

However, she is concerned about the crown. While Titti’s life has taken a turn, the virus pandemic has gripped Sweden and the world.

“It couldn’t have been worse,” says Titti.

The infection is at risk of being hit by the country’s homeless people, who cannot isolate themselves in their homes and who often lack the prerequisites for taking care of their hygiene.

– We note that more people are expressing concern. Those who live on the homeless street wonder what to do if they get sick, where to go, says Marika Markovits, spokesperson for the Stockholm city mission.

There are no confirmed cases of covid-19 among Stockholm’s homeless, but according to Marika Markovits, they are a risk group.

– When you have been living homeless for a long time, physical health is affected and the life expectancy of homeless people is several years lower than the average life of society. When it comes to health, this is a risk group. They often have underlying illnesses that are not always known, she says.

The city of Stockholm is trying to prevent spread, among other things, by allowing homeless people to stay longer in shelters and emergency housing.

– If any of the participants in our emergency houses becomes ill, you can be in your room and receive food at the door. Of course, in the event of an emergency, care should be contacted, says Marika Markovits.

Titti: “Many are terrified”

Titti says he realizes the crown in several ways. In terms of staffing the accommodation, in the sense that it is empty in the city and that women who generally do not seek help now come to BoKlara.

“Many are terrified,” she says.

She continues:

– Those who come from outside, you do not know where they have been. Where have they been, what people have they met. It is a discussion that arises. If you are homeless, you generally don’t have money to go to the bathroom, making it difficult to find a place to take care of hygiene. You go from a bush cage to a dining room, needless to say, it’s unhygienic and helps with the crown.