Amy's story
Amy's a single parent with two teenage sons. She has never been homeless and lived quite happily in private lets for years.
Then the new neighbours arrived. They were abusive and played loud music late into the night. Amy's sons became withdrawn and unhappy-they were scared to go out and they weren't sleeping. They started struggling with school.
Amy told the police and her landlord about what was happening, and she kept a note of every incident. She felt that nothing was being done. She felt unsafe at home and worried what would happen if her neighbours found out that she had reported them.
Amt's landlord had also written to her saying she was in rent arrears, although she was certain she was up-to-date with her payments. Amy started to feel depressed and anxious.
Amy's G.P. told her about HPS and Amy contacted us. A Personal Advisor arranged to see Amy at home and they talked about her options. Amy decided she definitely wanted to move on and her Personal Advisor helped her look for a suitable new flat- looking in the papers, checking out local areas, going with her to view properties.
Amy found a flat but was worried that she might lose out because of the confusion over the rent payments. She thought about just walking out on her lease. Her Personal Advisor suggested a mediation session with the landlord. This was set up and her landlord agreed that she didn't owe any rent.
Amy's landlord accepted her notice which was two months.
Amy's Personal Advisor managed to secure a 'two homes' payment to cover the overlapping period so that Amy didn't lose out.
Three months later things are still going well. Amy feels safe in her new home- she's not as depressed and her sons are going out and doing well in school.
Anna's Story
Anna is a single mother of 2 children, a 9 year old boy and a 17 year old girl. She found out about HPS when she was in court for eviction.
She was working full time but had built up fairly high rent arrears and was suffering from depression which was made worse by her financial situation.
Anna told her Personal Advisor (PA) that she had a lot of debts and these were getting on top of her. She was happy to be referred to Christians Against Poverty (CAP) who could help her with her debts. Anna arranged a budget plan with them that she found affordable.
Anna reduced her hours at work to look after her son but felt that she wasn't doing enough. Anna wanted to do some kind of physical activity and after some discussion about her options, decided she would like to try yoga. Her PA suggested that Anna link in with an HPS befriender. Now Anna has someone to go out and about with and is making friends of her own.
Andrew's Story
Andrew is a man in his thirties who has addiction and mental health issues: he was referred to EHAP on a Friday afternoon and his eviction was scheduled for the following Monday.
EHAP referred him to HPS and an assessment showed that he had rent arrears: Andrew's income was low because he had been unable to complete a DLA application form, leaving him unable to pay his rent.
Andrew was unhappy with his erratic drug use, which also impacted on his income and therefore ability to pay his rent.
His HPS Personal Advisor helped Andrew to complete the DLA application and he was awarded this a few weeks later. The PA was also able to accompany Andrew to future court appearances which reduced his anxiety and had a positive impact on his mental health.
Andrew's G.P. was happy to work with him to review and stabilise his drug use, which in turn benefitted his financial situation.
Andrew's home had been without a gas supply and his central heating had not worked for a number of years- his lifestyle had been such that he was unable to make arrangements for it to be repaired. His PA supported him to have this fixed and Andrew has felt able to decorate his home for the first time in 10 years.
Andrew is now living in a comfortable home which he can afford to maintain. He is paying back his arrears and is working with the LEAP Project with a view to coming off drugs completely.
