I had no idea that overcrowding was a form of homelessness – I had no idea I was homeless

A new series of short films – More Than One Story – exploring why people become homeless has been made by Cardboard Citizens, a charity that uses drama to transform the lives of those with lived experience of homelessness, in association with Black Apron Entertainment. Each film is written and performed by people who have experienced homelessness.  

This week’s film is The Surviving Room, written by Neetu Singh, a director and writer from Hackney, East London. Recently, she assistant directed The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse in Central London. Here, she explains the story behind the story.

‘I suddenly realised the reality of my entire life’

Overcrowding is a crucial reminder that we are expected not to take up space in this country. We are constantly expected to accept and adjust to unacceptable living situations. Under the last government, rent and the cost of living have skyrocketed and there is more housing – but not for people like us. Overcrowding is becoming the natural outcome. 

When Chris Sonnex, the artistic director of Cardboard Citizens, commissioned me for this short film I had no idea that overcrowding is a form of homelessness. I suddenly realised the reality of my entire life and the first thing I felt was shame, quickly followed by rage. 

For the majority of my childhood, I lived in an overcrowded home, and nobody did anything about it. 

I live in an East London borough that has been drastically gentrified and I couldn’t help but start the film with this. How could my living situation persist in a borough that has become oversaturated with new homes and luxury living? How have I spent my entire life living in an overcrowded home in a borough that is one of the most sought-after places to live? This irony struck me. 

I wrote a protagonist based on my experience. Kali, having just had an argument with her dad who is leaving for work, becomes an estate agent trying to capitalise off her living situation. With a national housing crisis in a borough where everything has become sellable, profitable and inaccessible – I thought even her living situation could become a real estate agent’s fantasy. I began by misleading the viewer, describing the allure of her living situation, rebranding a living room that doubles as a bedroom for multiple people as the ‘Surviving Room’. 

Many lives are intertwined by Kali’s living situation – there is More Than One Story in Kali’s household alone and given the local council and Middle England’s complicity, there is also more than one perpetrator too. 

Overcrowding is a big issue because of how common and unaddressed it is. More than 3.5 million people in England live in overcrowded homes. Despite the fact that overcrowding exacerbates a young person’s challenges – affecting their quality of life, health, education and access to stability and opportunity, it is not treated as urgent. It is not treated as homelessness. 

People who come to the UK for a better, safer life are offered social housing that is unsafe, uncomfortable, inaccessible and ultimately unliveable. Young people are born into persistently unliveable situations. We spend entire childhoods on waiting lists for better social housing only to be offered housing alternatives that isolate, distance and sometimes endanger already vulnerable people into areas and communities far away from everything and everyone we know. 

Today, I can call my living situation what it was. I lived in an overcrowded home. I was homeless. 

But what are you, what is our new government, going to do about it? 

Cardboard Citizens introduces Sonia Singh

Sonia Singh stars in The Surviving Room. Singh is an actress, model and trained Indian cinematic dancer. She has featured in various short films and commercials for brands including Coca-Cola, EasyJet and WhatsApp and is delighted to have collaborated with her sister on The Surviving Room. She says: “People haven’t always taken it seriously that an Indian girl like me can have a career in the arts.  But labels mean nothing. Anything you put your mind and your heart to unconditionally really can happen.”

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