Homeless

londonbabe73

Hi
As the op is under 35 she will qualify for a room rate only unless I believe getting the higher dla rate ? .

She needs to approach the local authority of the last settled address that she was living otherwise I'd she approaches another authority they will just send her back as authorities can't house their local people let along people from out side the borough / area.

Prob bes to try and get a mental health worker to fight her corner but regarding the hostel issue they have self contained places and or b&b but due to welfare changes she wouldn't get a 1 bed as she wouldn't be able to cover the rent and therefore would eventually lose the tenancy.

ultimatedingbat

She's current in receipt of ESA (i think it is) but it was contribution based as she was living with the ex-partner/friend. This will obvious change.
I don't know what MRC or HRC are.

She is not able to go on JSA as the reason she got so ill and ended up in the state she was in was through her last job so curently she is not well enough or metally stable enough to work.

If she was placed in a hostel it would ahve to be somewhere self contained as she couldnt share with people not directly. It would send her over the edge.

Thankfully she has good friends close by who are currently offering a sofa but this can not be a long term arrangement. She needs some where permenant to live to start really covering. I am nearly 200 miles away from her so can;t do more than advise and research but obviously am her friend and I wish I could help her more than I am!

I'm passing everything I get onto her so she can do this. I've gfiven her numbers for SHelter, the local council etc for her to phone to tomorrow. Also have told her to go to the CAB and Job Centre.

BigAunty

MRC and HRC are Middle Rate Care and Higher Rate care which is related to different rates belonging to DLA, disability living allowance.

ultimatedingbat

She doesn't receive those then as she doesnt get DLA

amyloofoo

ultimatedingbat wrote: »

I am asking this on behalf of a friend:

My friend has mental health issues (she has been diagnosed with bipolar but then had the diagnosis changed to BPD). She recently became homeless after losing her house with a friend. Bit confused about what you mean by this as BPD is just an abbreviation for bipolar disorder. For your friend to have this diagnosis she must have been seen by a psychiatrist as this isn't a diagnosis a GP is going to be confident in making - if she's still seeing her psychiatrist then she needs to make an appointment to see them urgently to let them know the situation and get support with a social housing application; if not then she needs to contact her GP and ask for an urgent re-referral to mental health services.

She moved in with another friend but recently the relationship broken down with the friend (they were in the early stages of being together). Money troubles, recent divorce and children on his part are the issue. She has again been made homeless. Shei s currently sofa surfing but this is obviously not a good thing!

She is currently staying on a friends sofa with her stuff at her ex-partner/friends place ready to be collected.

She needs to be careful how she presents her situation when talking to her local council / HA as many will be perfectly happy to leave young, single people sleeping on couches indefinitely.

My question is now what help can she get? She can not go into a hostel because she can not handle that. Please give me any info i can pass on as I just want ot help her get this sorted ASAP so she can begin to deal with her health.

Believe me, I understand how damaging shared accommodation can be for people with bipolar disorder, however if she's looking for emergency accommodation then she's not really going to have much choice in the short-term. Your friend needs to go to her local housing authority, let them know she's homeless and vulnerable and accept an emergency placement. Once there, she should be able to apply for housing benefit for a room in a shared house or studio apartment. As this is likely to be a major upheaval your friend needs to let her care team know, possibly arrange input from crisis resolution / CMHT and ensure she keeps up with her meds throughout the transition.

Just seen that your friend is in Leicestershire. Is this where she's wanting to stay? I presume her specialist care would be taking place at the Bradgate Unit / Gledhow Hospital? They are generally pretty good with providing follow up and their community care team / crisis resolution are among the best I've had contact with. It's worth making sure that she's seeing someone in the community to help her with housing referrals, and also talking to charities and third-sector organisations such as Mind to help keep her on track to recovery.

If she's over on the Hinckley / Nuneaton side of Leicestershire, then http://www.doorway.org.uk/ourwork/work-support.php may be able to help - they can support homeless young people and are particularly involved with those who have mental health / substance abuse issues.

Hope your friend manages to get somewhere sorted, please get her to contact her local housing associations and local authority; and if she heads to the council then the benefits advisor should be able to help her to claim what she's entitled to in order to get settled somewhere safe.

lou_89

BPD is Borderline Personality Disorder. (Bipolar is just BP).

Hence the erratic behaviour and risk of harm I guess.

Temporary accommodation, hostels etc. deal with people like that sometimes, the staff may be able to help her, or keep an eye on her?

Good luck.

amyloofoo

lou_89 wrote: »

BPD is Borderline Personality Disorder. (Bipolar is just BP).

Hence the erratic behaviour and risk of harm I guess.

Temporary accommodation, hostels etc. deal with people like that sometimes, the staff may be able to help her, or keep an eye on her?

Good luck.

Lol, conditions shouldn't share abbreviations, it confuses me! I know of a couple of places in Nuneaton that cater for ladies with mental health issues and where the staff are trained to offer support. She'd need to go to her GP for a referral though. As she has personality disorder, there's also the option of joining a 'therapeutic community' which is one of the more dynamic ways to manage the condition and involves living as a community with the disorder and working together to establish rules and boundaries. There are a few in the UK (the only one I've visited with work is in Birmingham though) so again it may be worth speaking to her psychiatrist.

I agree that a typical hostel may not be the best place for someone with borderline personality disorder, but that's likely to be what she's offered unless she can get some form of intervention from her care team. Is she fully engaged with the services in Leicestershire, going to appointments, etc? If not it's really important she makes contact or it's going to be really difficult to get the support she needs in the community.

ultimatedingbat

@amyloo - As has been said - BPD is borderline personality disorder. She was diagnosed some time ago but has recently moved so has a new GP and has not yet seen her new specialist at a hospital. She was discharged from the care of nottinghamshire hospitals when she moved.

She can not stay where she is as this person can not keep her indefinatly. The person she's staying with her children and a parnter.

Emergency wise shared would be ok but long term it[s a no no!

As far as I know she wants to stay in Leicestershire as the hospital service/doctors have been much better in this short time. She is fully engaged with her new GP and hospital and has an appointment in early August.

@Lou-89 - Thank you. I hope they do put her in a safe place! and you are correct with BPD

eadieb

If she is going to present as homeless then they will initially check how long she has been living in the area and if she does not meet the rules, she may have to prove some other form of connection with the area, or she will not be elegible in that local authority and will be told to go back to the council where she does meet the residency rules. It is normally 6 months residency. If she were to remain at her friends until she meets the rules time limit and then presents as homeless? She would need to evidence her address. I cant remember if staying on a friends sofa counts as residing - for the purposes of elegibility for an area, she would need to check that with shelter.

If she is elegible then they will go through the standard process of

• Is she homeless
• Is she intentional or unintentional homeless
• Is she a vulnerable person

She would only be homeless if she is being asked to leave through no fault of her own (or the fault can be shown to be caused by her health problems). she would need to evidence her vulnerability and prove to the local authority that her health would suffer more so than the average person sleeping on the street.

the local authority will decide if she is intentional based on her last formal home, so for example, if someone held a private rented tenancy for 1 year, then voluntarily gave up the tenancy and lived at their parents house for a year, then went and lived at a friends for a year, then the council will base their decision on the tenancy, no matter how far back it goes, and ignore that you are now being asked to leave the friends.

social housing access and the way councils apply the homeless law varies a lot between councils and areas. my area are very harsh. All the social housing is accessed only through a 'choice based lettings' bidding system. People who are homeless only get given the high bandings if the local council accept them as homeless. If you dont have a high banding then you stand no chance of winning a home. The local homeless department do everything in their power to avoid accepting any homeless applications and will push people into living in the most horrible private rented properties run by very dodgy landlords, who are the only ones who will accept the low housing benefit levels for under 35s.

Your local council housing department should be able to give your friend advice on how things work in your area for obtaining social housing. They must - if asked- accept a formal homeless application from her if she wishes, and investigate it properly. If she has no current contact with professional mental health services then she can obtain evidence from her former area. ask for copies of specialists letters from her gp etc.

hope this helps

ultimatedingbat

If she is going to present as homeless then they will initially check how long she has been living in the area and if she does not meet the rules, she may have to prove some other form of connection with the area, or she will not be elegible in that local authority and will be told to go back to the council where she does meet the residency rules. It is normally 6 months residency. If she were to remain at her friends until she meets the rules time limit and then presents as homeless? She would need to evidence her address. I cant remember if staying on a friends sofa counts as residing - for the purposes of elegibility for an area, she would need to check that with shelter.

she has only lived in the area for 2 months. Her friend lives in the area she used to reside is.



If she is elegible then they will go through the standard process of

• Is she homeless
• Is she intentional or unintentional homeless
• Is she a vulnerable person

She fulfills all three criteria

She would only be homeless if she is being asked to leave through no fault of her own (or the fault can be shown to be caused by her health problems). she would need to evidence her vulnerability and prove to the local authority that her health would suffer more so than the average person sleeping on the street.
Of course her health would suffer. She suffers from BPD which means being without help on her own on the streets she would be at risk to herself and others. She has a proven self harm record. She is homeless through no fault of her own. he is now unable to keep the flat as he is struggling financially.

the local authority will decide if she is intentional based on her last formal home, so for example, if someone held a private rented tenancy for 1 year, then voluntarily gave up the tenancy and lived at their parents house for a year, then went and lived at a friends for a year, then the council will base their decision on the tenancy, no matter how far back it goes, and ignore that you are now being asked to leave the friends.

She had to leave her prior residency 2 months ago as her former housemate was moving out of the house they shared and she couldnt afford to rent alone. She can not live with parents for the reasons already stated: two children at home, one severly disabled.

social housing access and the way councils apply the homeless law varies a lot between councils and areas. my area are very harsh. All the social housing is accessed only through a 'choice based lettings' bidding system. People who are homeless only get given the high bandings if the local council accept them as homeless. If you dont have a high banding then you stand no chance of winning a home. The local homeless department do everything in their power to avoid accepting any homeless applications and will push people into living in the most horrible private rented properties run by very dodgy landlords, who are the only ones who will accept the low housing benefit levels for under 35s.

This obviously can not be allowed to happen as she needs a stable safe home in order to begin recovery.

Your local council housing department should be able to give your friend advice on how things work in your area for obtaining social housing. They must - if asked- accept a formal homeless application from her if she wishes, and investigate it properly. If she has no current contact with professional mental health services then she can obtain evidence from her former area. ask for copies of specialists letters from her gp etc.
She is in contact with a new GP and awaiting her first appointment with the specialist in Leicetershire.