A mother of five ? who once lost custody of two of her boys due to lack of a proper home ? has jumped to the defence of Diane McQueen, saying ?Bermudians should be ashamed?.

Ms McQueen made a desperate appeal in last week for help in finding an affordable home for her four children. Ms McQueen is pregnant with her fifth child.

?Bermudians should be ashamed of the way they?ve treated Diane McQueen,? Dawn Brown, a 36-year-old said last night.

?We help Tsunami victims... people who live thousands of miles from here that we?ve never met and don?t know at all, but right here at home we refuse to help one of our own. I don?t understand that.?

Ms McQueen has been asked by her new landlord to move out of the newly purchased building so that it can be renovated.

Mrs. Brown said she was in exactly the same position as Ms McQueen several years ago.

?I was a single mother of four living in an abusive relationship and lost two of my older children in the process,? she said.

She said two of her children went to live with their uncle for five years.

?I lost five years of my sons? lives. No one will ever be able to give that back to me,? she said.

Mrs. Brown said Social Services did help her pay her rent for a while, but she was thankful the public never ?turned on her? the way they have on Ms McQueen.

?But then I never went public,? she said. ?Applying for Social Assistance is humiliating enough.?

Since Ms McQueen approached the newspaper a week ago, letters to the editor have flooded offices from members of the public ?outraged? by her lifestyle and the fact that she was a mother of four ? soon to be five ? at just 22.

?I have so much compassion for Diane because I know what she?s going through right now and I?ll do whatever I can to help her,? she said.

Mrs. Brown said the women of Pembroke Seventh Day Adventist Church were currently looking for affordable housing for Ms McQueen, who lives currently with her mother and children.

The landlord has given her extra time to find a new residence. In the meantime Ms McQueen has been denied Social Insurance because she has no permanent address.

Mrs. Brown said she got married seven years ago to a ?wonderful man? and he became legal guardian of her children. They have since become parents of a baby girl.

?I do think that Ms McQueen?s husband should step up to the plate and take responsibility for her and her children,? she added. ?When you marry a woman with children you take on responsibility for them too.?