i am in need of help - urgently

ddcmp

Hi all,

i became homeless with my wife and my 4 month old daughter on the 4th march 207 - i was put in temp accomodation for the night and the day after i went to my local housing office. i was also unemployed at the time so they put me into temp accomodation that day and said they will be investigating my case and will let me know if they will accept me as homeless. at he time even though i was jobless i was not claiming jobseekers nor child tax credits as i have never claimed before i dint know how to do it and just thought to myself id find a job soon.....however then all this hapened (wife and my mom had argument as we were living at my parents - wife has no family here)

they put me into temp acomodation around 18 miles from their office - i had to live there for a week and had to visit the office every other day to try and get them to move me closer which they did after a week. they have moved me to another temp acomodation place closer to the office however the area is in teh middle of nowhere and there is alot of thefts, disturbance which they say i have to live with.

i also started claiming jobseekers and child tax credits

firstly it has been 4 weeks sice i claimed for jobseekers and apparantly this is still waiting to be processed - because of this the housing team call me every other day saying im in arrears and that i need to provide them with details of the jobseekers - which i cannot get until jobseekers have proscessed my claim - i have not recieved a penny even though i am homeless as te jobseekers is still being processed hence i am borrowing money from friends untill this sgoes through - i think the amount of time this is taking is no god and especially for somone who is homeless

secondly i got a found a job last week and worked for a week however due to the stress that i am currently under and most importantly the stress that the housing team have put me under by calling me asking for the jobseekers and the jobseekers not processing my claim even though i have called them hundreds of times at my cost i had to leave after 1 week and doctor has put me on sick for 4 weeks from today so i have to now process a new jobseekers claim.

thirdly my homeless application - i dint even knw u had to apply to be homeless is still 'under investigation' and they say it can take upto 6 weeks - it has already been 5 weeks - they have put me under some shelter but given me no cash nothing to live on - jobseekers havnt given me a penny - i dont know what my rights are and what to do.

i would love to get a job but my illness (IBS) ensures that i have to visit the loo for the number 2 ever 10 mins after i get up - when im stressed and this is why i cant even apply as i wont be able to attend the job/interviews nothing untill this big stress goes away. my wife is not from this country (i fell in love with her on holiday) and she does not work she has to look after our daugher as she breatfeeds. she does not claim a penny at current but im thinking child tax credits will be claimed by her - i dont know how this works.


now i want to get back on track asap, i know that when i do find a job i will defo be earning around 25k as i am an it contractor and i had just finished a contract when this happend. can someone help me by providing useful info or anyting at all. the biggest stress is the stress that the homeless team and jobseekers are putting me through because its like i have to run about so much for them to do even anuthing surely its their job and they should do it proactively???? i feel for anyone who has become homeless and who is homelessas the service they are getting is no good at all - or the service in my local area is no good. i am in West Yorkshire.

Please help someone asap..

i dont know where this thread goes so can someone please move it to the right place?

needing info desperatly as need to go back to the temp place soon and my mate wil probly need to use the net.

ginjim

try the familes and work board

try this board

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=23

jpe20

Should be moved to the Benefits forum really ... some people in there are very knowledgeable. If you have been put "on the sick" you should at least be getting sick pay from your employer (I know it is only 1 week you worked!) which should be more than jobseekers. You and your wife should be entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit but you need to apply for this and you also MUST KEEP A diary and records of your earnings etc as this makes any claims easier/quicker to process.

Worth a shot at claiming for DLA (Disibility Living Allowance) for your IBS though I doubt you will get anything.

Best advice I can give you really is to visit 2 places ... (1) Your local Citizens Advice Bureau and (2) Your local welfare rights advice office.

As for your housing problem .... try (1) Hassle your local council office (2) Get a list of local housing associations and get your application in ASAP they tend to prioritise the homeless.

Err thats it ... hope it helps

Jules

PS Your partner and child will be entitled to at least child benefit which is 18quid a week??? I don't have kids so I dunno.

Good luck .... there is a thing where you can get extra money (5weeks benefit) when you actually get a job etc but I do not know what limits there are on this or what the benefit is called. It is designed to cover interview/buying a new suit for work expenses etc and setting up in a new place for a new job etc.

ddcmp

does anyone know:

how long it should take them to see me as homeless as the guy said 6 weks at the housing office however cant find any confirmation of that

how long jobseekers should take to process the claim with them?

redfox

Hi ddcmp, I've moved your thread to the Benefits board where I hope you'll be able to get some help and assistance from the board members.


Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]!!!!!![/EMAIL].

superwoman_2

I work in Housing and this is the norm 6 weeks. They need to assess if you have priority need which you do having a baby and that you didnt make yourself intentionally homeless, this can be by giving up a tenancy or selling your house unless you can prove that you had to for financial reasons.

The council and housing association lists are very extensive. We have some people who have been on the waiting lists who have been homeless for more than 6 months.

If the housing providers in your area is mainly council then try applying direct to housing associations in the area as many only allow the council 50-75% nomination rights. Which mean that out of 4 houses they have to ask the council to nominate 2/3 people from their waiting lists, leaving 1/2 they can allocate themselves.

It all depends on what the allocations policy is in your area. In many areas homeless applicants get out right priority but in many they just get a few extra points or priority.

Sometimes the council can help with bonds and Housing Benefit could pay a large proportion of a private rented property if those are more readily available in the area. If you find somewhere you like the look of find out what the rent, bond,etc are like and before signing get the council Housing Benefit section to go out and assess the property to find out how much rent they will pay. It is important not to sign any tenancy agreements until Housing Benefits have been out.

Hope this helps. I am in the North East (Sedgefield area) if you are nearby I could get details of private landlords, housing associations, etc.

Biffa

Just wanted to agree with Superwoman - I too work in Housing (dare I say as a Homeless officer). They have 33 working days to assess your application and make a decision, during which time you will be provided with interim accommodation, which you say they have done. That is their duty - to provide you with accommodation, not to give you money, buy your food, pay your bills or such like.

IF they accept you as homeless, they will then make you an offer of accommodation that is suitable for your needs (ie Big enough). To make this easier to explain, I'll assume that you are one of my cases, although please bear in mind different authorities have diffferent allocations procedures and so may not be the same. (I'm in the Nottingham area)

Let's say that I investigate your homeless application, stick you and your family into hostel accommodation while I investigate and then declare you to be eligible for help, being in priority need as a result of having children under the age of 16 years or having a medical condition/disability, having a local connection and being unintentionally homeless - all of which are important. You will then go onto our waiting list on the urgent band - the highest one there is. You will then get an offer of accommodation, but it depends on the turnover of properties as to how long this could take. I work in a high demand, low turnover area where family houses are very hard to come by, so you may wait a week, a month or 3 months, depending like I say on turnover.

You will then get ONE offer, and it could be anywhere within the Borough covered by the council. It's up to whether you accpe the offfer or not, but if you decide NOT to accept the offer, then we will have discharged our duty to help you and give you notice to quit the interim (hostel) accommodation.

After that, it would be up to you to find alternative suitable accommodation, so I really wouldn't turn down any offers of accommodation without giving it serious thought.

If you get an offer and accept it, make sure you ask the Housing Officer for as much help as possible. It's all about tenancy sustainment nowadays, so ask them for help with your housing benefit claim, budgeting, council tax, getting furniture etc etc etc. Us housing people really are wonderful angels and can point you in the right direction IF YOU ASK!

In the meantime, you need to sort out your money situation. Ask your local council for an appointment to see a Welfare Rights advisor for help. You might be able to claim for a Crisis Loan, although you will have to pay it back. You should also phone your DWP office and chase up your claim - or better still, do it in person to save on the phone bill.

If you need to know anything else, feel free to PM me.

*sidney*

Ring Shelterline 0808 800 4444 - it's a helpline run by the charity 'Shelter' - https://www.shelter.org.uk There will be someone there who can help you. Best wishes.

D&DD

Biffa wrote: »

Just wanted to agree with Superwoman - I too work in Housing (dare I say as a Homeless officer). They have 33 working days to assess your application and make a decision, during which time you will be provided with interim accommodation, which you say they have done. That is their duty - to provide you with accommodation, not to give you money, buy your food, pay your bills or such like.

IF they accept you as homeless, they will then make you an offer of accommodation that is suitable for your needs (ie Big enough). To make this easier to explain, I'll assume that you are one of my cases, although please bear in mind different authorities have diffferent allocations procedures and so may not be the same. (I'm in the Nottingham area)

Let's say that I investigate your homeless application, stick you and your family into hostel accommodation while I investigate and then declare you to be eligible for help, being in priority need as a result of having children under the age of 16 years or having a medical condition/disability, having a local connection and being unintentionally homeless - all of which are important. You will then go onto our waiting list on the urgent band - the highest one there is. You will then get an offer of accommodation, but it depends on the turnover of properties as to how long this could take. I work in a high demand, low turnover area where family houses are very hard to come by, so you may wait a week, a month or 3 months, depending like I say on turnover.

You will then get ONE offer, and it could be anywhere within the Borough covered by the council. It's up to whether you accpe the offfer or not, but if you decide NOT to accept the offer, then we will have discharged our duty to help you and give you notice to quit the interim (hostel) accommodation.

After that, it would be up to you to find alternative suitable accommodation, so I really wouldn't turn down any offers of accommodation without giving it serious thought.

I hope this is REALLY how the homeless persons units DO work nowadays for the sake of the OP..
We were reposessed about 9 years ago now and were told the exact same thing (6 WEEKS MAX) only to be still in temporary accomodation from March 4th until November the 18th being 'assessed'...On the day we were accepted we were rehoused though thankfully
Keep your chin up OP and do accept whatever you are offered!

ddcmp

D&DD wrote: »

I hope this is REALLY how the homeless persons units DO work nowadays for the sake of the OP..
We were reposessed about 9 years ago now and were told the exact same thing (6 WEEKS MAX) only to be still in temporary accomodation from March 4th until November the 18th being 'assessed'...On the day we were accepted we were rehoused though thankfully
Keep your chin up OP and do accept whatever you are offered!

hi, thank you all for the support you have given me in providing all this usefuull information. i will defo be taking the first offer and will let you knowe how i get on. i hope it doesnt take as long as D&DD though because i want to get back on track with a job and stuff and i cant do it till i am settled.

Morglin

Rules for SSP:

"You must have worked for your employer under a contract of service. Even if it is your first day of work with a new employer and you become sick part way through the day you may be entitled to SSP.

To get SSP you must be:

Aged between 16 or over and under 65 (these age limits will be removed from 1 October 2006).
Sick for at least 4 or more days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays). This is known as a Period of Incapacity for Work.
Earn, before tax and National Insurance an average of £84.00 a week. This is called the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NIC). The amount you need to earn is lower than the amount when you have to start paying NIC’s.
Your earnings are averaged, over an 8 week period before your sickness began. This period may vary slightly depending on whether you are paid weekly or monthly paid, or at other intervals. If you have just started your job the calculation may be different, contact your employer for more information."

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/statutory_sick_pay.asp#caniget

Lin