A MOTHER from Rhyl has shared her relief at moving into a home perfectly suited to her and her children’s needs after being homeless for 18 months.

Leanne Taylor, 37, a single mother to Curtis, 17; Amber, 12; and Michael, nine, left her bungalow on Rosehill Road in July 2021 after her landlord opted to sell the property.

She and her children then stayed at the Westminster Hotel on East Parade, while also going back and forth from the home of Leanne’s mother, who later moved from Kinmel Bay to Rhyl to be closer to them.

Leanne is the full-time carer for Michael, who has “non-verbal” autism, and “stims” (makes repetitive actions or movements).

Last August, she told the Journal that the stress of her predicament, exacerbated by constant journeys to and from Kinmel Bay prior to her mother’s move to Rhyl, caused her to suffer a nervous breakdown.

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But on February 1, Leanne and her children moved into a new house in Rhyl, which she said is ideal for all four of them.

Leanne said: “A woman had saw my story in the paper, and I had her number in my pigeon hole at the hotel.

“She said she had two houses to allocate, and that normally she would interview so many different families first, but she said she wasn’t going to do it and just gave me it straight away.

“It just needed a lot of work doing to it, because it had been empty for 15 years!

“It’s a lovely big house and the kids are all settled. Michael’s got his own garden and room for his sensory needs; it’s all brilliant. It’s our forever home now.”

Though she is delighted to start a happier chapter in her and her children’s lives, Leanne, who was born and raised in Rhyl herself, does not look back on the last 18 months with any fondness.

But she is keen to put that behind her now and start afresh, with her mental health having improved greatly since the move.

She added: “It was horrible. Nobody should be in that situation, especially when you’re born and bred here. It’s a shame it had to be like that before someone gets a house.

“I was going backwards and forwards between my mum’s and the hotel all the time, because Michael couldn’t stay there.

“I feel a lot better now. My mental health’s a lot better, and the kids have settled in really well. Without the story going in the paper, I don’t even think I’d be where I am now.”