Tag: homelessness

Sarah’s story: The housing trust and council response

This week I wrote about Sarah. She told me that she was forced to flee her home some distance away in another borough because of her relative’s violent behaviour. A housing trust which runs a hostel for the homeless in Greenwich took her in after she was registered homeless, but it has handed her an eviction letter, telling her that she must vacate by April 11.

It says that if she fails to hand in her keys by 11am that day, it will be ‘forced to carry out an eviction with the Metropolitan Police present’. It adds that following a review, ‘it has been decided that the services and facilities that the accommodation provides are no longer suitable for your needs’. It does not say why that is the case. Sarah says she’s been told it’s because she’s made a number of complaints to the hostel.

Sarah (not her real name), a law graduate aged 28, moved back home after her studies and struggled to find a job. She says that because she couldn’t find work she was ‘scapegoated’ by the relative. Eventually, she left home in January for her own safety. Sarah has also been dealing with a serious mental health issue – borderline personality disorder (BPD) for many years. After pleading with them to help her, she says The Royal Borough of Greenwich registered her homeless and placed her with the housing trust.

She says the council is paying the housing trust her housing benefit, council tax and for her heating. Her main complaints about the housing trust focus on ‘intrusive’ room inspections at odd times of the day, a card meter regularly not being topped up by the staff – leaving residents without heating and hot water about one day a week – and a service charge made by the staff of £15 a week per resident. She says she was forced to the food bank because of the service charge and because she lost food when a fridge broke down for a few days.

The housing trust (not named to preserve Sarah’s anonymity) has now responded. It says it that Sarah was one of the first clients to move into the new accommodation, and that when she arrived she was given a ‘small loan and a large bag of food’.

The statement says there ‘was an issue with the heating system where the whole system had to be shut down for repairs’. It says the ‘leak in the pipe work was fixed’ On another occasion ‘the gas meter was faulty and we had to report it and accordingly waited for an engineer from the gas company to exchange the meter’. It was ‘due to those problems that there was no hot water or heating for a period of time’. The fridge wasn’t working ‘because someone from the property switched off the fridge function’.

The statement adds: ‘The service charge is for the TV licence and broadband. Gas and electric are only covered partially.’

I asked the housing trust if they were going to use a court order to evict her, but didn’t receive a reply to this. Sarah’s understanding is that they won’t do this because she has a licence agreement rather than a tenancy agreement.

According to the housing trust, there were issues that led to Sarah being given a notice to quit, but that it can only say more if she offers consent in writing. I’ve passed this information onto her. The housing trust also strongly rejects Sarah’s comment that it does not deal with drinking and drug taking at other accommodation it runs. The trust adds: ‘We are working actively and strenuously with the council to reduce homelessness within the borough and to help vulnerable adults.’

Responding to Sarah’s concern that her council case worker was not dealing sensitively with her homelessness issues, the Royal Borough of Greenwich said it had ‘not received a complaint from the resident against the actions or behaviour of any member of Royal Borough staff’. It added: ‘We are committed to ensuring that we support people who access our services in a professional manner, and in a way which is sensitive to any additional needs they may have. If the resident has concerns about her tenancy and the actions of her landlord, we would encourage her to contact the Royal Borough for advice and assistance by calling 020 8921 2618 or email housingaidcentre@royalgreenwich.gov.uk’

‘We’re living in barbaric times.’ Charles’ story

Charles at the Jerico Road project in Catford
Charles at the Jerico Road project in Catford

Charles is a pensioner of 72 who must at times feel that he’s fallen off the edge of a world that he no longer recognises. He’s well spoken, very intelligent and has an air of dignity, despite the enormous challenges he faces in trying to exist from day to day. The world is chipping away at his soul and is bent on eroding his humanity, which despite all remains intact. I met him at the Jerico Road project, which feeds between 100 and 150 people in Catford, South London each Wednesday evening.

The project provides a safe space for the growing number of vulnerable people in this area within its thriving church (though you don’t have to be religious or Christian to benefit from what’s on offer). It gives advice on everything from homelessness, benefits, and getting back to work, as well as a nutritious three course meal. It’s about social solidarity, practical support and creating community. It’s a place where people are cherished.

Quite a few of those who come along are rough sleepers. Charles at least has a roof of sorts over his head. He has a small cottage, which I surmise he’s inherited. But he says he’s on a basic state pension, and the house is ‘falling to pieces – it’s a liability and it takes all my money to keep it going’. I wonder whether he’s receiving pension credit, which would boost his weekly benefit (about one in three people don’t realise they’re entitled to claim this), but he’s unclear on this (I’ll follow this up with staff at the project tomorrow). He may be struggling desperately, without the resources to lead a decent life , but he’s kind and generous enough to want to help some other men who are down on their luck. ‘Three men were sleeping on my floor. They were desperate people.’ What happened in his life? He volunteers that he was refused medication for what he describes as ’emotional illness’, and was then ‘dismissed’.

He is furious about the divisions and inequalities that he believes characterise life in London now. ‘I’m so angry I can’t even sleep. I’m angry about the vindictiveness the rich show towards the poor. We’re living in barbaric times.’

Some of the 100-150 people who come to the Jerico project for a free meal each week
Some of the 100-150 people who come to the Jerico project for a free meal each week

When asked if he’s eating properly, he says he tries. He says he’s been ‘struggling for justice since the age of four and I’ve had periods of utter persecution and disadvantage’. He adds: ‘I’m a Christian Socialist, but if you look at the nature of society, there are no safeguards, ethos, or morals. The mass media is our enemy and we can’t get a look in.’

What did last week’s budget have to offer Charles and the many other people trying to eke out an existence in this expensive city on a basic state pension? Well, pensioners will have the chance to blow their private pension pot on anything they want, including a Lamborghini if they so choose. A £15,000 flexible ISA savings vehicle is being set up. None of this is going to be any comfort to Charles.

What will happen to Charles as he gets further into old age? I don’t have the stomach to speculate too much tonight. What I do know is that his assessment of the government as a ‘mafiosi, lethal to democracy, imposing class warfare on the old, the vulnerable, the poor, and people with mental and physical illnesses’, is on the mark.