Homeless

[coppernob]

Did anybody watch this? I sat skwinnying all the way through it :cry: Those poor children, not only did they have to go through the ordeal of loosing their home but the older ones missed vital schooling or were picked on :angry:

[Planet 24]

I saw it and it was appalling.
Having been an owner occupier who declared myself homeless and was kept in hospital for 12 weeks because my council reneged on their offer to house me I went through the system and it is exactly as it was portrayed. Most of the people who deal with homeless applications at council level have at best no feelings at all and at worst are bullies.
They will constantly keep changing the goalposts so every time you fit a criteria they change it again and again and again.

You are not kept informed and are left trying to negotiate your way through a minefield of legislation that is sadly lacking in compassion.
My heart goes out to people who are made homeless through no fault of their own.

I won but it was a hard battle to make them take responsibility for a situation, they certainly had a hand in creating.

[coppernob]

I'm hoping the people who could change things watch it and develop a concious, after all "Cathy come home" did. Couldn't believe the callous way the family from Minehead were told because they were being filmed tough, we can no longer put you up for the week, how did she sleep that night :rant: They treated you appallingly P24, they ought to all sleep rough for a night, bet they wouldn't stick it out :(

[Planet 24]

That's how I got to be homed in a homeless unit from the hospital - I said - Discharge me and I'll sleep in the foyer and every camera from the BBC will be here to film it- I meant it, I knew the warmer weather would be coming and I would wait it out. I was later told from the hospital 'we don't want any bad publicity'
They collected me one night at 6pm with no warning and bundled all my belongings into a wheelchair and took me to a homeless unit where I stayed for 13 weeks while they decided what to do.
The statutory time for making a decision on a homelessness application is 30 days, but they decided to try and drain me dry as I was paying rent, council tax and electricity and gas for the homeless unit- no benefit because I had a house and council tax on the house also. I wasnt working but that didnt seem to matter.
They wanted me to give in and go back to the house but I wouldnt.

They expect you to run out of money or run out of time, either way they expect to win and fight dirty to do so.
They haven't got a clue about real life.

[coppernob]

:angry: Not that you should've ever have had to go through all that in the first place, it makes me :banghead: If they'd have dealt with the ASB before it escalated, you'd still have a home! It's only when you have been in a situation you understand how demeaning it is. The attitude of the council etc is almost draconian.

[StoneHenge]

I didn't see it, I wish I had. Things like that do make me angry and actually I agree , evict those that abuse the privilege and house those that really want to make a go of things and just need a chance to get there.

I can't imagine not knowing where I will be sleeping or living from one day to the next. They really have no idea about life. Very sad.

[Annabel]

I also watched it, they did get housed eventually - I do know a bit how the system works, in London it is pretty much impossible to get council housing these days, the most a local authority can usually do is get you emergency housing for a short while and then people are shunted around left right and centre.

I, 100% agree that private landlords need to develop more of a social conscience. Me and the hubby own a flat in a deprived area of London, and we would let to DSS tenants, as long we were able to meet them and make them aware that in letting the property to them in a good clean condition, this is how we expect it to be kept. The reason why so many Landlords dont want DSS is because some of these types of tenants have no respect for anyone, either themselves, their neighbours or their landlord and a Landlord does not want his property, his investment, trashed.

On the other hand, DSS tenants usually have their housing benefit paid direct to the landlord so there is continuity of rent, which makes them, IMO, a potentially lower risk tenant than someone who is working, as they could lose their job and then not be able to keep up the rent.

I found the attitude of the housing officers in that programme utterly heartless, but then I did wonder if that is a consequence of what they have to deal with day in day out - not enough housing stock and intense demand and pressure on them to sort people out. I just could not fathom how they could let such a vulnerable family struggle like that, they obviously have lost their ability to empathise with their suffering.

I find it quite shocking in this day and age and in this country, which is extremely wealthy, that we have people living like that.

[Planet 24]

I totally agree with what has been said and until you go through the system you really have no idea just how upsetting it is - to not know whats going to happen to you.

I had a long conversation with the Director of Neighbourhood Services who told me this:

'Your homelessness application has been closed. I mean why would we take 28 days to determine your case when we know who you are - your case is discussed regularly at the ASB panel - you have a house you will go home'.

I was offered a bungalow which was then taken away from me the same day. I told the housing officer beforehand that when you find out who I am things will change. She was taken off the case and the DNS second in command oversaw my application'personally'.
I have a friend at county level who told me that a letter went out stopping my application the same day and the DNS name was on it. When I challenged him over it...he said 'That's very clever how did they know that then'?

It seems to me they change the rules to suit themselves.
Only because I stood my ground - which is very hard when you are bewildered with the system and anxious as to where you are going to end up at night, did they decide to put me into a homeless unit.
The Housing Officer who had worked for them for 20 years was shown a transcript of the conversation with her bosses and said she was shocked as she thought that the housing dept was 'one big happy family'.

After all, it doesnt matter even if its just a sh** heap on the floor, its still your home and the anguish of having to leave it is overwhelming.

These people are totally without feeling

[Annabel]

Its only when you can walk in someone elses shoes that you know what it is like to suffer the way they do.

I dont suppose many housing officers have been in a position where they either could have, or have been homeless, so what do they know or care how it feels to have nowhere safe to sleep at night?

I was homeless once, only for a very short amount of time, but it rocked me to the core, and even when I was later on, on the other side of the fence, working in a bank and we were making reposessions, I never forgot that we were evicting people just like us, and really it is 'there but for the grace of God, go I' , as it would only take for any of us to lose our jobs and we too could be staring eviction in the face.

I know there are some sh**forbrains out there who abuse the homes they are given and have no respect for anyone and deserve to be evicted, but I would never assume they are the majority of homeless people.

[sapphirelily10]

It's not easy to be out there and need to move desperately and feel that you're not taken seriously.

It's not easy to be out there and be street homeless and not in "priority need".

If certain governments had never made it possible to buy social housing, the whole thing would have been a hell of a lot different.