Income Support, moving area = new claim????

Dontknowanymore

Hi
I'm moving area on Monday or Tuesday into a refuge, It will be in a different town and probably different county.
Will I have to make a fresh claim or do you just call up?

katiesmummy

Dontknowanymore wrote: »

Hi
I'm moving area on Monday or Tuesday into a refuge, It will be in a different town and probably different county.
Will I have to make a fresh claim or do you just call up?

the refuge should have the form for you to fill in- you have 2 weeks to fill it in and get it back to the jobcentre or they can stop your claim. one of the staff members should be able to help you fill in the form, and they may hand-deliver it to the jobcentre as well (they did in my case)

best of luck, i know its not easy xx

Dontknowanymore

katiesmummy wrote: »

the refuge should have the form for you to fill in- you have 2 weeks to fill it in and get it back to the jobcentre or they can stop your claim. one of the staff members should be able to help you fill in the form, and they may hand-deliver it to the jobcentre as well (they did in my case)

best of luck, i know its not easy xx

Thank you x
Yeah it's not easy but has to be done, my children deserve a better life x

katiesmummy

sorry, also wanted to add- if ss are making you leave your home, ask them to pay for your furniture to be put into storage until you are rehoused. ss did this for a woman that was in the same refuge as me- she had been forced to leave as well

also, if you have dogs or cats, the dogs trust can help with fostering them- don't know if this applies to you but if it does give them a call. they were fantastic with me and my dog had a lovely holiday lol

katiesmummy

Dontknowanymore wrote: »

Thank you x
Yeah it's not easy but has to be done, my children deserve a better life x

been there, done it and yes your children deserve a better life- and so do you!!!

please pm me if you want to talk, i was in a refuge last year xx

Dontknowanymore

katiesmummy wrote: »

sorry, also wanted to add- if ss are making you leave your home, ask them to pay for your furniture to be put into storage until you are rehoused. ss did this for a woman that was in the same refuge as me- she had been forced to leave as well

also, if you have dogs or cats, the dogs trust can help with fostering them- don't know if this applies to you but if it does give them a call. they were fantastic with me and my dog had a lovely holiday lol

Thanks for that info, I've been wondering what to do with all my stuff, I'm not bloody leaving it all behind!

katiesmummy

Dontknowanymore wrote: »

Thanks for that info, I've been wondering what to do with all my stuff, I'm not bloody leaving it all behind!

No problem. They didn't do it for me as I went into refuge off my own back, but I know they definitely do it.

Did ss explain about keeping up with your rent on your old house? If you don't, whatever council you apply to could find you have made yourself intentionally homeless. If you are on benefits you can claim for both your old place and the refuge at the same time.

Dontknowanymore

katiesmummy wrote: »

No problem. They didn't do it for me as I went into refuge off my own back, but I know they definitely do it.

Did ss explain about keeping up with your rent on your old house? If you don't, whatever council you apply to could find you have made yourself intentionally homeless. If you are on benefits you can claim for both your old place and the refuge at the same time.

Yeah, basiclly I have rent arrears but i went to refuge in november then saught advice from shelter, as long as I keep with paying off my rent arrears it shouldnt hold me back too much, if it does my Mum said she'll lend me the money but I would rather pay it off my own back as she's buying me a car in Feb x
This will actually be my 3rd time in refuge, the first time was because of my dad though.

katiesmummy

Dontknowanymore wrote: »

Yeah, basiclly I have rent arrears but i went to refuge in november then saught advice from shelter, as long as I keep with paying off my rent arrears it shouldnt hold me back too much, if it does my Mum said she'll lend me the money but I would rather pay it off my own back as she's buying me a car in Feb x

You should be ok then- I had rent arrears as well, and as long as you keep to the agreement you have with your landlord there shouldn't be a problem.

Be prepared for the council to possibly try and persuade you to go back home on the promise of arranging for your landlord to install 'safety' products. They tried this with a few of the women at the refuge I was in including me. The fact that you have ss on your side helps enormously, as the more proof you have of dv the more likely you are to get help. Some women just go into refuge to get a new house which is totally disgusting imo.

Also, ss may be able to help pay for day trips and the like for you and the kids- take whatever help and support they offer you.

When you are housed, you can apply for a community care grant to buy whatever furniture you need if you can't arrange for yours to be stored, and outreach will normally have access to certain grants for things such as carpet for kids rooms.

Oh, if you share a kitchen, LABEL YOUR FOOD!!! Seriously, I had a major problem with my food going missing- I went away for a couple of days to stay with a friend, came back and my fridge/cupboards were almost empty! After that I started writing my initials on everything in marker pen.

Dontknowanymore

The council cant fob me off like that because it's is part of the child protection plan that me and my boys have to move out of the area.
Basically if I go home, they will take my children into care staright away, it's quite serious stuff.

Yes I heard that some people move to refuge to get a new place, why would someone want to lie like that? they obviously havent experienced real DV :mad:

katiesmummy wrote: »

You should be ok then- I had rent arrears as well, and as long as you keep to the agreement you have with your landlord there shouldn't be a problem.

Be prepared for the council to possibly try and persuade you to go back home on the promise of arranging for your landlord to install 'safety' products. They tried this with a few of the women at the refuge I was in including me. The fact that you have ss on your side helps enormously, as the more proof you have of dv the more likely you are to get help. Some women just go into refuge to get a new house which is totally disgusting imo.

Also, ss may be able to help pay for day trips and the like for you and the kids- take whatever help and support they offer you.

When you are housed, you can apply for a community care grant to buy whatever furniture you need if you can't arrange for yours to be stored, and outreach will normally have access to certain grants for things such as carpet for kids rooms.

Oh, if you share a kitchen, LABEL YOUR FOOD!!! Seriously, I had a major problem with my food going missing- I went away for a couple of days to stay with a friend, came back and my fridge/cupboards were almost empty! After that I started writing my initials on everything in marker pen.

katiesmummy

Dontknowanymore wrote: »

The council cant fob me off like that because it's is part of the child protection plan that me and my boys have to move out of the area.
Basically if I go home, they will take my children into care staright away, it's quite serious stuff.

Yes I heard that some people move to refuge to get a new place, why would someone want to lie like that? they obviously havent experienced real DV :mad:

Well thats a positive then- you are pretty much guaranteed help from the local council. How long you will have to wait depends on a few things- how long your tenancy with the refuge is, whether you are on the bidding system or the points/band system. I was very lucky- in band b and got housed literally a week before the bidding system came in. Once you are on the list, if its the council who allocates you somewhere to live it should be quite quick- I had the letter offering me my house within a week. You have to take whatever you are offered though, even if you don't like it (only downside to the council allocating you somewhere), but again I was really lucky as I love my house and the area (apart from noisy students lol)

stay strong hunni xx