Emergency housing

bookrabbit

We coped alright with the UC meeting. I took the opportunity to ask them lots of questions and to try and get them to sort out a problem for my son. It seems I am much better able to talk to them about him than about me because I can wear my parent mask!! I am hoping that this means that I will be able to help him with his PIP assessment when it finally happens. We seem to be waiting much longer for it than I waited for mine.

We are now able to stay in this hotel until Tuesday. But we still have no idea where we will be from then until we can move into our new house.

Other than having a constant headache I am coping remarkably well most of the time. I think the headache is because my usual careful diet has been completely wrecked by eating cold preprepared food most of the time because we don't have access to cooking facilities.

Hannah_Alumni

I'm glad you coped well with the UC meeting. I am so sorry that you are still in limbo with the hotel and the new house. Hopefully you get some answers before it causes more stress  

Have you ever used the Too Good To Go app? I know it would depend on what is around you. But if there are any restaurants or hot food places, you may be able to get something hot and you pay a lot less. I've seen my local carvery do surprise bags for £2.79 before. 

bookrabbit

Thanks:) @Albus_Scope @Hannah_Scope   @Biblioklept

I am feeling quite good about how well I am coping. I thought I would totally collapse if it came to this but apart from one really bad day that hasn't happened at all.

Of course I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend and staying on my own in the hotel would have been much more difficult than having my son with me.

Our UC claims are now mostly sorted, we just have to do the change of circumstances bit when we have the tenancy agreement to upload.

And we still have my MR for PIP to wait for and we still don't have a date for my son's PIP assessment. This isn't over yet, but I am finally believing that we'll get through it alright.

I have too many food sensitivities for take away food to be a good option. And I would find it very awkward having it delivered to the hotel anyway, but thanks for the suggestion @Hannah_Scope

bookrabbit

Here we go again!!
We have to check out of this hotel by 11am without any idea about where we will be tonight 😔

My friend is coming to fetch us and has said we can wait at her house until the council tells us where to go. I expect she will phone them for us too. My text messages yesterday didn't get answered.

I need to get everything packed and ready. This hotel has been such a peaceful respite it is difficult to leave it but I need to get on and get packed and remember that in two weeks we will be in our new home (hopefully 🤞🤞).

Albus_Scope

I'm glad you have your friend there @bookrabbit, I'm also very glad you don't have to be out in the wet at least! 
Fingers crossed for the home to be sorted soon! 

poppy123456

I didn't realise you have a new home to go to in a couple of weeks, that's great news! Is this privately rented or social housing?

bookrabbit

Thanks @Albus_Scope and Poppy. 
The new house is a private rental. I had just about given up but we're the first to contact them and they were ok with benefits and we passed referencing although I am not going to completely believe it until we are in!

We are still waiting to hear about tonight. It turned out the housing officer who was supposed to sort it out isn't in today and so we had to go back to the switchboard and we just heard that they having trouble finding a room for us. But at least they let us know they are still working on it.

poppy123456

That's great news! If you need help with any rent in advance then you can apply to your Local Authority for a DHP. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments

I hope they are able to find you somewhere to stay tonight and you can remain there until you move into your new home. 

bookrabbit

We have finally got a room but just for tonight so far. It seems that just about every hotel room within any sort of range of Cheltenham is fully booked so we have ended up in Nuneaton after an hour's drive. And my poor friend has to do it again to get home 😔
And I really hope they will book us in for tomorrow night too as she can't fetch us tomorrow.

We have gone from a suite in a beautiful country hotel with gorgeous gardens to one next to a major road in amongst fast food restaurants. Not that my son is upset about that:~ But quite the culture change!! 

bookrabbit

We have another anxious wait this morning to see what they decide about booking again for tonight. I really can't face a taxi ride so I hope they leave us here at least until my friend is available to fetch us tomorrow even though breakfast was awful. We were very spoiled in the previous hotel where it was really nice. If we stay we won't be bothering with breakfast here again. I am so glad I have my own jar of coffee with us. Even the coffee was undrinkable:(

Albus_Scope

Sorry your friend had to drive you so far, but that shows what a great friend they are @bookrabbit and I'm sure your son was VERY happy to be near some fast food. 

I'm hoping they can get you into somewhere else in a day or two. But at least you have your own coffee, I'd say that's the most important part of breakfast.  

bookrabbit

Yes @Albus_Scope I agree coffee is by far the most important part of breakfast. We have now heard we are here until the 19th so I hope my jar of coffee lasts that long. Although there is a Starbucks next to the hotel so I can get my son to fetch me some when he goes for his fast food if necessary.

Albus_Scope

Ooh, now that is a lovely treat to get!  I do love a Starbucks.  
As Hannah mentioned, the Too Good To Go app could really be of some use to you now you have more shops around you. It's certainly worth at least having a look. 

bookrabbit

I downloaded the app and there are places on the doorstep with offers. Middlemarch Farms and Starbucks although that is sold out.
The only trouble is my son has changed his mind about wanting to go out and get anything 😔 Maybe tomorrow...
He is content to eat Doritos and salsa and cereal today. I had brie and corn cakes and olives.

Hannah_Alumni

@bookrabbit I hope today is better  

rubin16

Hey, Sorry I havn't posted on here, but I have been following your journey and I rarely comment on threads sometimes. Just wanted to say hope you move into your new place soon, you are doing so well considering everything and are so strong. I don't think I would of been able to manage under the same situation. Fingers crossed its not long now till you are settled again in your new home.

I use "Too good to go" app sometimes when I am short of money, and it is great. You get so much food for like £2-3 and really top restaurants, cafe's and shops use them. My favorite use is getting a greggs off there and you get so many sandwiches, cakes and pasties for £2 its really worth trying now and then. The only thing I have found is sometimes you have to order/book a day in advance to pick up at end of the next day, but I would defo recommend it.

Wishing you all the best, we are all rooting for you. Take care.

Lou67

@bookrabbit
Good morning I just wanted to say you are dealing with your situation amazingly.
I hope the next 2 weeks goes by quickly till you get into your new home. 

Take care ❤️

bookrabbit

Thanks @rubin16 @Hannah_Scope and @Lou67 . It has helped having this forum to turn to and having people on my side

There is a Greggs offer but it is a bit too far away. 

I worry about us wasting stuff if we do reserve something as I am vegetarian and my son is extremely picky. But I bet he wouldn't turn his nose up at the cakeaway from Middlemarch Farms if we can jump on it before it gets taken one day.

We ended up going to Macdonald's last night. It was so loud in there! I only went because I wasn't happy about him going out in the dark in a strange place and it was close enough that I could hobble there. He thought I was silly to be worried about him but seemed happy enough that I went with him. Not something I want to repeat though. My friend came over again with a grocery shop for us so I can have something healthier today, and we have enough to last until the end of the booking now. 

It turns out that all four housing officers who usually work are off sick which is why we had all that trouble on Tuesday, as well as all the full hotel rooms because of Cheltenham. But my friend has talked to the temporary person and says she is really nice and very sorry about what happened. 

Hannah_Alumni

@bookrabbit Glad you have enough to last until the end of your booking. If you do decide to use the app again, if you click on the browse feature on the app and next to the search bar, press the filter icon, you can pick vegetarian, to help you see what is in the area. 

Hopefully they will be back and able to get you somewhere where you were or the same place as before, until your new home is ready  

bookrabbit

It is much more difficult to cope in this place. The constant traffic noise is wearying and going out to hobble around in a giant carpark is completely unappealing so I haven't left the room in days. The small routines I had developed at the other hotel of going to breakfast and then for a walk in the afternoon served to break up the day and make the tedium more manageable and having the extra room let us get away from eachother a bit. He gets very snappy if I interrupt him (ie if I say anything at all) and his snoring has to be heard to be believed!!
I was coping until the DWP rang me twice on Saturday morning without warning. That really unnerved me and led to my having a full blown panic attack thinking everything was going wrong and we won't get the house after all and we will be stuck in hotel rooms like this for months longer because we haven't heard from the estate agent again and I can't phone to check... 
The DWP phoned my son's phone later to verify a few things and tell him he has been awarded 'full PIP'. I don't know exactly what that means. I certainly wouldn't have expected him to get enhanced on either component. He didn't have an assessment they just did it on the form and whatever evidence they have otherwise. That made me feel a bit better but then yesterday I read a thread about someone getting a letter about a claim being cancelled because of documents not being sent in and now I am concerned that a letter asking for documents may have been sent to our old address asking for them before we gave them a correspondence address to use instead and they will cancel the claim because they weren't sent.
At least today I can email the estate agent and find out if the previous tenant has moved out as planned and if everything is still on track for us to move in next week. And hopefully we will also find out what will happen tomorrow and not wake up to uncertainty again and have to check out without a clue about where we will be tomorrow night.