Published on 12, July, 2020
I am fed up having no where to live. I was made homeless at 13 and in and out of foster care. Now I am 31 and am FORCED to live in a house share full of druggies, there is no ventilation and i am FORCED to breath in class a drug smoke every night, even though I have never taken drugs in my life. I feel frightened to use the bathroom cos its shared. I unable to use the kitchen.
I have Autism, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and C-PTSD and I will soon be getting Enhanced Daily Living and Standard Mobility PIP. But, NONE of that matters cos I can't find a place to live. and the pure evil local council here refuse to help with housing. I am living in Neath, Wales and I am from Hull, England. So clearly I am being discriminated here in Wales for being English.
HOW are people who are former care leavers and live a solitary life meant to get a guarantor for a ONE BEDROOM. I might as well end my life at this point.
NAS86192 said:HMO or House Shares should be 100% ILLEGAL
I strongly disagree with this. For NT (well over 90% of the population) they are not an issue for those who need cheaper accommodation.
I've used them in the past when I was early in my career and while they are far from perfect, they offer an accessible and flexible way to work in one region of the country where I don't have a home.
Please do not try to cancel what is a perfectly useful service because of your bias.
yeah council housing youd never get, i couldnt get council housing in my areamwhere i was born and lived and grew up... theres no council houses and theres too many people wanting them and by social justice rules all the diverse types are first in que before locals anyway lol but yet if i moved and asked for a place in another region theyd decline me because i came from another region... but from another country you get 1st in que everywhere, from this country and move to another region? they say its not their problem.
I agree. It's made my mental health suffer tremendously. And for th council to tell you you have to stay there forever aswell should be completely illegal.
However a foreign person gets housed immediately
Can I ask, did you ever get help moving out of that druggie house?
I am in the exact same situation as you. I have been homeless and council did nothing for me. I mean I'm not an immigrant so I don't get put in a nice hotel. I have now gone on my own back and rented for a place that accepted universal credit.
However like you , it is full of cannabis smokers who also drink and vandalise the house. Council told me I couldn't go on the housing list as I had somewhere.
But this is now where you could possibly get help if you go to your doctor. Does your council application have something that says if you have a medical need and your current housing is affecting you?
I applied for housing again and told them I have a medical need. I went down the doctors and told them I am severely depressed living in the dump. I did have to pay £20 for a doctor's note for the council but at least there is that little bit of hope as I am now on the list.
So it might be worth you seeing your doctor . Just a suggestion for some help for you :)
Nothing can be done, there is no support for Autism in Wales, only in England. No idea why Wales is a 3rd world country.
Is there anything you are looking for help with or a question you have to ask?
I'm not looking to diminish your posts but wanted to know if there is something we can add or if you are just looking to vent about the horrible situation you find yourself in.
Most of us here are just looking to support or help those in need.
All the council houses in my local area were all privatised into social housing and they are so strict and very difficult to get into social housing, such as bad as private renting.
I was homeless at 13 and I only recently found out there was a Residence Order that lasted until I was 18 for me to live in a certain place and Social Services I was under were unaware the order was in place. Which means Social Services kidnapped me and made me live in the middle of nowhere instead of returning me to my birth and school area.
I was originally with the Wallich, but CMHT (Community Mental Health Team) referred me to CIS (Community Independence Service) which means the support from the Wallich had to be dropped. On my first meeting with CIS, they told me that they do not support people living in an HMO and they discharged me from their service. Now I no longer have a support worker. That is the same council I was with whilst in foster care and a care leaver, they know my history and they treat me like that.
I WAS with the Integrated Autism Services, but they discharged and instead put me with the so called "CMHT (Community Mental Health Team). I never had any support with my Autism, it took them 16 years to get the diagnoses, it was suspected by CAMHS and Social Workers when I was 13 but got diagnosed at 30 and it took 7 years to convince PIP i had Autism.
You have no idea what living in an HMO is like, this is my second HMO and I was hospitalised with three facial fractures in my previous HMO. It is probably safer to be on the streets then sharing with random people.
I'm so sorry you are going through this. But don't give up because there's always a way forward, it just takes time that's all. Rosie Mod and other members have given you some great resources and advice.
I can't offer much more than what they have but I can say due to abuse I left my parents home and went in to care and was homeless twice. It was hard, probably the hardest and darkest days of my life but I kept the faith and promised myself I'd get to a better place and now I have my own little home and an adorable cat who is my world.
It will get better x
Have you tried the Intetgrated Autism Service?They are based in Wales. ×
Pls don't mind if I note these down, my side project is I'm trying to make a master list of compiled resources for a public open document that people will be able to ctrl+f to find what they need all on one page and be able to reference when asked for directions to resources and services.
Dear NAS86192,
We are really sorry to hear that you are going through such a hard time at the moment.
Organisations such as The Wallich and Shelter Cymru have services that provide help and support with housing.
If you are having a difficult time, you can call the Samaritans any time, day or night, on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Other helplines and listening services:
If you feel you need more urgent help, our website lists some options you could consider https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/urgent-help
Kind Regards,
Rosie Mod
I have been in a similar situation. It's not good, my advice is to get yourself out of the house as much as possible. Treat that place as your bed and try not to be there too much. If you have some close friends, talk to them, see if you can stay at theirs every now and again. Speak to the Samaritans when you need someone to listen.
Get your name down for a house through your council. Tell the council about your conditions, this will speed up the process. The waiting list is long, but friend of mine just got his own flat after 9 months waiting. He's so much better for it now.
People find it hard to understand what it's like if they've never been in this situation. You're are not alone though mate and things will get better.
one option is to report your housemates to the police for drug possession. But if you do so do it in secret. If they find out its you they will not be happy. That said having them angry at you will probably force the council to re house you if their behaviour is threatening.
NAS86192 said:Now I am 31 and am FORCED to live in a house share full of druggies
At least you have a roof over your head so count the blessings you have - being on the streets is a whole lot worse.
Without HMOS there would probably be nowhere for you to live. Yes, they suck on the whole but they are cheap. If the landlords fixed all the issues then they would be able to make a lot more money renting privately so it is a case of supply and demand at the moment.
With the government actively trying to push private landlords out of the market then the supply of rental properties is drying up. Any landlord I know has sold up already to private owners or are selling to big corporations like Serco who are worse for the tenants than private landlords.
I don't think it is a case of the UK is allowing this to exist - it is what the majority of people want, and the fact it impacts the poor minority is unfortunate.
Only the government can redress the public housing issues and the cost to do so is far beyond what they can afford.
With the level of debt built up be a succession of Tory and Labour governments, they cannot afford to build millions of new homes to effectively give to the poor and needy - these have to be financed by making them profitable but the huge up front costs are the biggest barrier to this.
You may not like it and it may be horrible but it isn't going to change.
It will help you move from being a victim to being your own person, taking charg of your life one step at a time.
I even complained to my local MP about my housing and they BLA BLA BLA Housing Crisis????? I walk around and see so many empty houses, cos evil ESTATE AGENTS AND LANDLORDS buy them all and won't let anyone rent them.
HMO or House Shares should be 100% ILLEGAL, its PURE MENTAL ABUSE to live in such a place to share one bathroom with FIVE RANDOM people you don't know, they might have diseases, its absolutely disgusting. SHAME ON UK for allowing such places to exist.