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Help needed, Council let's us down again |
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Sep 22 2011, 08:03 PM
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QUOTE (Simon @ Sep 22 2011, 07:29 PM) A friend of mine is an english citizen, who has worked full time for over 10 years and has never claimed anything fromnthe government before.
She has now hit a rough patch in her life and requires help but is not getting anything of what she needs.
She is 20 weeks pregnant and has just split from her boyfriend, she has no where to live and does not accrue enough points with council to get housing.
She has been offered a room at a b&b in slough (even though she works in Newbury) or a room at a half way house sharing bathroom facilities with the other guests. This place does notnlook or sound safe for her.
Does anyone know of way she could be helped or anyone else she can speak to? If the father cannot be traced or is unable/unwilling to give financial help, you could always let her stay in your house. I do not see how the Council (council tax payer) has let you or her down - as your post title suggests. I hope things work out for her. Rgds
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Sep 22 2011, 08:06 PM
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QUOTE (Simon @ Sep 22 2011, 07:29 PM) A friend of mine is an english citizen, who has worked full time for over 10 years and has never claimed anything fromnthe government before.
She has now hit a rough patch in her life and requires help but is not getting anything of what she needs.
She is 20 weeks pregnant and has just split from her boyfriend, she has no where to live and does not accrue enough points with council to get housing.
She has been offered a room at a b&b in slough (even though she works in Newbury) or a room at a half way house sharing bathroom facilities with the other guests. This place does notnlook or sound safe for her.
Does anyone know of way she could be helped or anyone else she can speak to? The CAB might be able to offer some practical advice and would certainly know of contacts who could offer real help. I know someone in a not too dissimilar predicament they at least steered in a good direction. Hope she can get some relief from her troubles soon.
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Know your place!
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Sep 22 2011, 08:41 PM
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QUOTE (Vodabury @ Sep 22 2011, 09:03 PM) I do not see how the Council (council tax payer) has let you or her down - as your post title suggests. I believe the council has let her down by not being able to find her decent accommodation especially considering she has paid both tax and council tax for many many years. I would have hoped that as a tax payer, I would be looked after if I hit a rough patch. So many other people seem to be able to get housing provided for them
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If I ruled the world.......
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Sep 22 2011, 08:43 PM
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QUOTE (On the edge @ Sep 22 2011, 09:06 PM) The CAB might be able to offer some practical advice and would certainly know of contacts who could offer real help. I know someone in a not too dissimilar predicament they at least steered in a good direction. Hope she can get some relief from her troubles soon. She has been to the CAB but not much luck. The council seem to be only offering her the halfway house or the b&b in slough Hopefully something will happen for her
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If I ruled the world.......
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Sep 22 2011, 08:55 PM
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QUOTE (Simon @ Sep 22 2011, 09:41 PM) I believe the council has let her down by not being able to find her decent accommodation especially considering she has paid both tax and council tax for many many years.
I would have hoped that as a tax payer, I would be looked after if I hit a rough patch. So many other people seem to be able to get housing provided for them If she has been paying council tax on a property, then I wonder why she is suddenly homeless. Again, can't you put her up for a bit till she gets sorted? Thanks
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Sep 22 2011, 09:01 PM
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QUOTE (Vodabury @ Sep 22 2011, 09:55 PM) If she has been paying council tax on a property, then I wonder why she is suddenly homeless.
Again, can't you put her up for a bit till she gets sorted?
Thanks She is homeless as it was her boyfriends house, and unfortunately I am not in a situation to have her stay at mine The more I am finding out about how many people need housing the scarier it gets. I have been very naive and assumed that if you needed housing you got it, as according to the media, every jobless, druggie, immigrant has a council house
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If I ruled the world.......
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Sep 22 2011, 09:19 PM
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QUOTE (Simon @ Sep 22 2011, 09:01 PM) She is homeless as it was her boyfriends house, and unfortunately I am not in a situation to have her stay at mine
The more I am finding out about how many people need housing the scarier it gets.
I have been very naive and assumed that if you needed housing you got it, as according to the media, every jobless, druggie, immigrant has a council house Try the housing charity Shelter. They gave fantastic advice to a friend a while back, & told her straight facts when the Benefits Agency had misinformed her....possibly because they didn't know the facts??? I wish her luck & that she can be re-housed locally; she's clearly trying to continue to help herself by carrying on working, she deserves abit of support.
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Sep 22 2011, 09:25 PM
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QUOTE (Simon @ Sep 22 2011, 10:01 PM) She is homeless as it was her boyfriends house, and unfortunately I am not in a situation to have her stay at mine
The more I am finding out about how many people need housing the scarier it gets.
I have been very naive and assumed that if you needed housing you got it, as according to the media, every jobless, druggie, immigrant has a council house Ok. Boyfriend has a house (and therefore an income?) so perhaps her first call for funding (assuming he is the father) is on him and not the tax payer?
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Sep 22 2011, 10:25 PM
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'Help needed'...maybe ........but remind me again... WHY is this the Council's fault? QUOTE (Simon) ....She has been offered ....< snip > ...a room at a half way house sharing bathroom facilities with the other guests. This place does notnlook or sound safe for her She's not quite as desperate as you make out then is she..... Far too sniffy to consider a place where she might have to share facilities until she gets herself back on her feet.... Perhaps the people who live there temporarily are in a similar position to her? And why would she (and you) think that just because she may have been paying a few quid to the Council to get her bins emptied, roads swept, (etc) over the years that she'd be able to walk straight into a place of her own because she's had an argument with the bf... As a tax payer I'm fed up with the number on spongers who want everything delivered to them on a plate when things go tits-up. But Hark! Is that the sweet sound of righteous indignation I hear? Approach, Sir Richard Garvalot and rescue this poor maiden from her perilous fate....
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Sep 22 2011, 10:32 PM
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QUOTE (Simon @ Sep 22 2011, 07:29 PM) She is 20 weeks pregnant and has just split from her boyfriend, she has no where to live and does not accrue enough points with council to get housing.
There is no minimum amount of points - you can apply for any housing with any number of points, you might not get it, but you can apply. Also housing decisions aren't based on points alone, circumstances are considered for all applicants, so says a WBC representative.
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Sep 22 2011, 10:48 PM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Sep 22 2011, 11:33 PM) I pray that I don't fall on hard times, or have a savage twist of fate and end up relying somewhat on the 'charitable nature' of the 'good folk' of Newbury. Why's that? Don't you like to share bathroom facilities either?!! sheesh....
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Sep 22 2011, 10:59 PM
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QUOTE (Andy Capp @ Sep 22 2011, 11:33 PM) I pray that I don't fall on hard times, or have a savage twist of fate and end up relying somewhat on the 'charitable nature' of the 'good folk' of Newbury. QUOTE (spartacus @ Sep 22 2011, 11:48 PM) Why's that? Don't you like to share bathroom facilities either?!! sheesh.... QUOTE (Vodabury @ Sep 22 2011, 11:58 PM) If Simon really cared for his friend he would let her stay at his house and stop making excuses and passing blame. Like I said...
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