No way out? Disabled and homeless

perectlyflawed

I'm physically disabled, I suffer from major mental health disorders and I am under mental health care following multiple break downs inuding emergency services attending for suicide prevention. My wife is physically disabled, she has autism.

We faced homelessness and assessed vulnerable and in priority need. The council did not act on its duties as stated in the government ombudsman's final decision notice. I will happily link the decision notice as it is freely available to the public. No housing plan, refused any information on housing, no answer to any of our contact attempts, outright refusal to discuss our disabilities. The list goes on.

86 weeks have passed. We are both still homeless and stuck in unsuitable living conditions as per our housing needs assessment requiring ground floor access and separate bedrooms. We are in a single bedroom of a relative. They are not legally allowed to have us here. It is temporary accomodation because the tent we were forced to live in was stolen.

I have been on DLA since 2004 but was since shoved onto ESA (not new style). With this was SDP. My wife was added to the claim, we both received SDP. This was removed the second we were classed as homeless. Why is this allowed to happen?

We have been a client of HOLD and have had a future home and care plan in the works since 2021. We are unable to continue without SDP. 

ESA have been the worse people to speak to. I have been given fake MRN numbers, fake phone numbers, and today received a threat of altering my claim from the call handler.

I have been diagnosed with malnutrition last week. I am visibly under weight. I have physical, oxygen, and mental health therapies in the area we were evicted from and have not been able to attend after being made homeless and forced out of our local community. At what point does this become negligence?

What do we do or is it a case of hoping our deaths raise enough concern for an investigation after the fact? I'm appalled this is the way disabled people are treated by the DWP and left without recourse unless you are incredibly lucky to stumble upon that one single person who has a slither of empathy. I don't have the ability to gain a law degree overnight in order to keep fighting, all my strength is focused on not killing myself.

I have read the blood soaked decision handbook the lovely hood wearing sociopaths at ESA quote scriptures from and that itself states that the accomodation we are in can only be deemed temporary evidenced by the fact everything we own being in storage for the last 86 weeks, having a full accepted and confirmed future housing and care plan with HOLD since 2021.

Trouble is, I am under care for mental health disorders and have had several breaks due to suffering and trauma of losing our entire lives to this god awful situation. Not only have we been failed by these people, they have found absolute joy in licking us as hard as they can whole we are down.

No welfare.solicitors have any space for additional cases. CAB are of no real help. We have done the rounds of signposted signposted who signpost you to the other sig  posters just incase they didn't signpost you to those signposted to begin with. Same goes for other mental health services. 

Are we the bad people here or something? Was I Charles Manson in a previous life maybe? Is this one big joke?! I cannot take the degradation, discrimination, abuse, or neglect - it will kill me.

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @perectlyflawed

I'm going to pop an email over to you  

perectlyflawed

Thank you for taking that time for me

surfygoose

I’m sorry to have nothing useful to contribute. It sounds such an awful situation you are in. Just wanted to say I read all of your post and that I do wish there was some advice I could give to make things better. That’s terrible that you both had to go in a tent, especially with you both having physical disabilities as well as your other problems you are struggling with.

2oldcodgers

surfygoose said:

I’m sorry to have nothing useful to contribute. It sounds such an awful situation you are in. Just wanted to say I read all of your post and that I do wish there was some advice I could give to make things better. That’s terrible that you both had to go in a tent, especially with you both having physical disabilities as well as your other problems you are struggling with.

There are 1000's that currently live in unsuitable accommodation such as tents and derelict properties.
To make matters worse there is a huge number of these that are ex servicemen. 
Until such time as more funding is provided to build local authority 1 and 2 bed flats this situation will continue.
Locally we had the situation of a very large Victorian pub being converted into such accommodation, but there was an outcry from the residents in the surrounding area that they did not want 'these sort of people living in close proximity to them'. 
The pub continues to lie empty and is deteriorating week by week.

WhatThe

Hello perfect, 

What a dreadful situation to be in. You've explained it eloquently. 

As woodbine suggests, contact Shelter for their free legal advice and excellent advocacy service under human rights law - by phone or email or both.
 
Also, a letter from your relative stating that you cannot stay there any longer might help to secure accommodation in the new area although you clearly need to be near your therapy services in the longer term. Shelter will confirm or deny this

mdbham

Hi perfectlyflawed;

I fell onto your incredibly well written article which speaks the truth of the system here; I have asked numerous councils around this country (UK) who have all refused to "help" their community who has also "supported" them remember and their ancestors in the past.

I have all these conditions and felt neglected and ignored by the system also and they do not see it as a priority at all; which shocked me.

Where someone who is from Africa who obviously has no "local connection" to the city get homed; but a UK citizen cannot be supported; its beyond illogical thinking about where I have supported the economy in the past for decades; little do they care for that.

We must look beyond being so-called "good" to these ridiculous legislations that aren't helpful to supporting disabled people who mean well for this place wherever we choose to live.

Don't give up expressing this and go and get a petition about it and email it on here to let me know; I would support you all the way my friend; I feel your pain and understand the sense of punishment you are feeling.

I think I am being punished also.

Sending love to you all going through this and those even my friend who isnt here due to suicide who had a home and knew he would loose it due to a lack of support in these types of situations.

I pray you will find this support and me also.