Ellie, one of the lucky ones who got a space, shared her story of domestic abuse from her new flat at the Refuge-run shelter. As she talks, her son runs in and out, delighted with the biscuits, trucks and balloons at his disposal. On her table is a Christmas tree, covered in fairy lights and topped with an angel – like she has always wanted. On one of the lower branches hangs a little mouse in a red t-shirt that her son wanted and picked out. "It’s perfect," she says.