A homeless single mother whose home burnt down last year is begging the Government to help find her family a house.

Mother-of-seven Matasha Winters ? who was dramatically rescued from her home during the blaze in Somerset in May 2004 ? says she has had to give up two of her children for adoption because she has no permanent base.

Three others are living with relatives and Ms Winters is caring for the remaining two at her sister?s home in Paget.

Last night, she told she was desperate for a proper home to bring up the five children who still belong to her.

?I don?t want nobody to feel sorry for me,? she said. ?I just need help, just to get the family back together. I want to let the world know that I?m human.

?I know that I have made a lot of mistakes in life but when it comes to having a support system by your government, it fails somebody like me. I love my kids. My kids are well taken care of when they are with me.

?It?s just Bermuda needs to get a support system. It?s not like I haven?t been trying. But there is nothing out there that I could afford. I don?t have anything right now.?

Ms Winters used to have a Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) home but says she lost her job at the Fairmont Southampton when tourism slumped after 9/11 and fell behind on her rent.

After she was evicted, she lived in tents, meaning several of her children had to stay with family members.

She eventually got a home in Scott?s Hill Road, Somerset, but it was destroyed by fire last May. Ms Winters, who was pregnant at the time, and her son Allan, were rescued by neighbour Jerome Crockwell.

The 34-year-old, who is no longer with any of the three fathers of her children, now looks after only Jah-taio, seven, and eight-month-old Destiny, whom she originally planned to give up for adoption.

Troy, 15, Shaquan, 11, and Allan, two, are living with relatives. Her four-year-old son and six-year-old daughter have been adopted.

?After the fire I wanted to give up, I wanted to kill myself, but I stayed strong,? she said. ?I know there will be criticism. But don?t judge me for how many kids I have. I just need a home regardless. Help me.?

Ms Winters, who works part-time in a laundromat, was among protestors from Families United in Action who marched on Cabinet last July to demand affordable housing.

She also waved a placard outside Premier Alex Scott?s official residence, Clifton in Devonshire, earlier this month but says the Premier refused to speak with her and another homeless mother.

Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson criticised the Government in the House of Assembly last week for breaking a promise to help the families who marched.

Mr. Scott and then-Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent promised at the time to house 20 families in two months.

?The Premier didn?t keep his promises to me,? said Ms Winters. ?My name was on a list but they kept saying ?there is nothing available?. I put my trust in them ? the Premier and Ashfield DeVent. I feel hurt. I feel that they lied to me.?

Mrs. Jackson told MPs on Friday: ?They took to the streets of Hamilton because there are many, many of our women and children who are homeless.

?It?s been a year and I?m very sad to say that many of them are still homeless. The people there were very angry, very upset. The Premier at that time addressed the crowd. He said that he would house 20 families by September.

?The Premier ? to my knowledge ? has yet to give a home to the people who were there.?

She added that it was a disgrace that one of the world?s wealthiest countries had families sleeping in tents and on the beach. ?Broken promises are one thing to adults but with children this is very, very sad. People are calling for help. It?s a basic human right. What this Government has got to do is to try to end this cycle of poverty for these people. We have people having their children taken away from them because they can?t find a place to live.?

Premier Scott replied that several of the families involved in the demonstration had been housed and that one mother had emailed him last week to say thank you. Of the other families, he said: ?We are working on it.?

Sherri Simmons, from the Coalition for the Protection of Children, which is helping Ms Winters, said: ?We do know that some families have been housed. Two of them have got the mobile homes.

?It didn?t happen in the time frame but yes, they have been housed and we are in talks with BHC in terms of finding a workable solution for several of our clients.?

@EDITRULE:

Anyone able to help Ms Winters can contact her on 236-6253 or 505-6254 or the Coalition on 295-1150.