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No furniture in my flat

I have been living in my council flat for 4 weeks and have absolutely nothing I'm sleeping on the floor and my back and legs are killing me. I have mental health problems which are getting worse since I moved here. I've tried to get stuff but even on sites with stuff for free in have no furniture so can't collect anything. I get £120 every 2 weeks which is have to buy food , electric, gas and pay my bills out of. How is it that u get a flat and they expect you to suffer with absolutely nothing I'm suicidal at this point how can I just get a matress ? I can't sleep on this hard floor 1 more night
Replies
I am so sorry that you are in this position, it is very hard to start in your own place.
Please call the Scope help line as they may be able tooffer some suggestions
CR
If you don't feel you can keep yourself safe right now, seek immediate help.
If you need some support right now, but don't want to go to A&E, here are some other options for you to try:
You can also call the Scope helpline on 0808 800 3333 to speak to someone and see if they can offer any information or signposting to someone who can help. @Debbie_Scope do you have any thoughts?
Are you claiming everything you are entitled to? Try the benefits calculator to check this, and you can also search for grants here.
Take care and do come back and chat with us here.
Senior online community officer
Hi Liam,
Really sorry to hear that things are so difficult at the moment for you, there is help available.
If you email us at the helpline with your phone number and postcode we can call you back and have a chat about your situation and assist you to find support with getting some furniture.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
Zoe
Scope helpline
Senior online community officer
British Heart Foundation if you have a shop near you sell 2nd hand furniture cheap. Your local authority social services dept might have a store of 2nd hand furniture.
SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
Recipes
This isn't right, do you have a housing officer and what have they suggested? Have they signposted you to local sources of support?
Your local council may have a local welfare assistance scheme which you can apply to for help. If they can't help they should be able to signpost you to local charities or schemes which help with furniture. The link above will help you find details of your local council's scheme (if they have one).
There are also budgeting loans but are loans and repayable from your benefits, not ideal if you're already stretched but the option is there if needed.
Facebook now has a marketplace where you can look for items cheap or free. If you don't have access to Facebook ask a friend, family or neighbours if they could search on there for you.
If you get stuck let me know which council you come under and I'll have a look to see what's available. I know it seems really bleak at the moment but please don't give up. It's not easy setting up home for the first time and it's expensive too but there is help, we just need to find it.
Best wishes
Debbie
SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
Recipes
SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
Recipes
Sorry to hear you are in this situation. Have you got sorted out yet?
The income you have stated seems quite low for benefits unless it is age related. Have you checked if your entitled to Personal Independence Payment also commonly called PIP for short?
Also are you entitled to use food banks like the Trustle Trust to get donated food even for a short period so that you can use your money to spend some on furniture?
Try any of these websites or organisations for free or donated or second hand stuff (some already stated in previous comments):
Freecycycle
Gumtree
eBay
the Salvation Army
British Heart Foundation
Facebook second hand sales groups
also consider advertising on Facebook for wanted stuff.
If your fairly mobile consider going to your local library if it is walkable in some part of the day to try and reduce energy usage. Also don’t boil a kettle frequently if possible.
Hope all these help in boosting your cash to get some furniture
i will also add that you don’t say if your claiming any housing benefit? If so another possibility is if your monthly total income payed into your bank account is at least 500 pounds consider changing your bank account if it is of no hassle to you. Several are now paying you a joining bonus for changing to them like TSB for example when last looked.
SCOPE Volunteer Award Engaging Communities 2019
Mental Health advice, guidance and information to all members
Nutrition, Diet, Wellbeing, Addiction.
Recipes