Eligible housing services for me??? Need advice.

dazedzombie87

Hello,

Long post apologies.

I'm male 36 years old, recovering alcoholic 4 years sober.  Up until 4 years ago I drank everyday for almost 18 years (reasons will become clear below)

I live with severe anxiety/depression I got signed off work a few years back,  I'm currently awaiting an assessment for ADHD and possibly Autism but the Community Mental Health Team in Cardiff are literally a useless service nowadays.  I have a 2+ year minimum wait to get an official diagnosis.

I struggle doing the most basic of tasks and I found out recently my landlord wants to sell this property so it's literally a waiting game before I'll be told I have to move out etc and it's peaked my anxiety to new extremes.

Before I moved into this property (that I found by sheer luck) I realised the council are also pretty useless for housing men.  I was put on a 7 year waiting list for a council property after being signed off work so I severely doubt they will care if I have a potential neurological disorder without official diagnosis.  I didn't bother to re-register with them to stay on the list last year because they favour women with children and foreign immigrants it seems so I didn't see the point.

Basically need guidance as I have no good family or friends to help me out so if I get booted from here I will be proper homeless and not sofa surfing like the last time.

I'm not on PIP I was signed off work as "limited capacity for work" and get slightly less than 1000 a month.  I don't know if I qualify for PIP but I have heard the horror stories of how they treat disabled people and don't want to bother applying for it due to my anxiety.  I have 0 respect for the people who took jobs as PIP assesors and frankly I'd likely verbally abuse/ question their integrity the entire time I'm in their presence to be honest so unless I know I'm eligible I don't want to waste my time and stress myself out for nothing.

I'm not officially classed as disabled yet which means every place or person I spoke to in the past just expects me to do everything by myself but I suffer with major executive dysfunction issues,  the problem with ADHD is that its an unseen disability and I can mask it pretty well in public to avoid bullies and predators. Ironically my effective masking of this condition has kind of been a detriment in recent years though as the people I've dealt with in relation to benefits and housing don't realise how badly I struggle despite trying to explain all of this to them.  I got treated like a benefits scumbag and given the typical speeches they likely reel off 100 times a day the last time around, they literally did not care.

Is there anywhere that will help someone in my position to find a suitable place etc or am I destined to struggle?  I literally have no clue where to start here.

I currently live in a shared house with selfish people who smoke weed inside the property,  they have no respect for others and they're all just incredibly selfish, quite stupid/uneducated people and it causes conflict so I'm doing my best to find a flat/bedsit but prices are so bloody high and I'm on less than 1000 a month.  I feel like I'm destined to be on the streets soon at this point.  Suicidal thoughts have been a recurring theme in my mind lately to be honest.

Any advice is greatly welcomed here!

poppy123456

I don’t think it’s just single men at all, the same applies to all single people. 

If you don’t put your name on the list then there’s no chance of being housed. 

You can refer yourself for a needs assessment and this may help the process of being rehoused. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/

As for being classed as disabled there’s no official register anymore. The definition is set out in section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. It says you’re disabled if:

• you have a physical or mental impairment
• that impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities

dazedzombie87

Thanks for all of your replies guys and gals,  I would have come online and said thanks sooner but I have bloody covid thanks to one of my dumb housemates not following basic hygiene and isolation protocols again.

I NEED to move out of this house before I beat somebody up lol.

JessieJ

You should also contact your local council homelessness unit, they should be able to give you some advice & support.

Luchia

Best thing I could suggest is to contact your local council and register for housing also refer yourself for a Occupational Health Assessment, This can take several months to get an appointment but at least you will be on the list.

The wait time varies from area to area but for a single adult man(or woman) without a diagnosed disability is going to have a long wait(several years if they even get an offer of housing at all)

Best thing you can do is ask your local council as I know the one where I am have said that a single adult(male or female) who isn’t diagnosed as disabled won’t be offered a property at all as they just don’t have the stock.

Although your current accommodation isn’t good they are likely to say you are suitable housed which would go against you.

Definitely give them a ring or visit and see what the current housing situation is and get yourself on the OT assessment waiting list though 

Alex_Alumni

Hello @dazedzombie87 and thanks for reaching out, no need to apologise for the long post. I'm sorry to hear how things are at the moment for you, and I can see a lot of our members have helpfully replied encouraging you to contact your local council and get on the housing register.

This something I'd also encourage, and for more tailored support I'd recommend Shelter, who have excellent information and advice on housing issues. It sounds like you're based in Wales, so you can phone Shelter Cymru’s expert housing advice helpline on 08000 495 495.

We'll be emailing you a little later today to check in, so please let us know if you don't have an email come through. If you need anything further, please ask.