What do you think RaspberryBeretxx…
For the attention of Damian Allen,
I am writing to you today as I am a resident of Doncaster and have been for 15 years.
I have also sent Sally Jameson an email in regard to my situation .
I am writing this email because I feel absolutely broken right now with everything I am having to deal with .
I feel so very let down by Doncaster Council (St Leger Homes) and I have never been treated or spoken to so appalling with everything else I’m going through Aswell .
I will start from the beginning if that’s ok.
I have been with my partner for 15 years , during that time he physically and emotionally assaulted me . The last beating I had in March this year resulted in me being hospitalised with 5 broken ribs . He has said the most terrible vile things to me such as telling me to go kill myself or that he hopes the cancer kills me . He also threw all my cancer medication away so I had to drive back to Sheffield and get some more because I was on 25 tablets a day at that point. He made fun of my cancer scars and he made fun of my weight whilst I was on steroids .
There are so many other things he has said and done but I just wanted time give you an idea of it .
I suffer with my mental health , I have severe anxiety and depression . This started a few years ago but last February (2023) I was in a very bad way and I drove to the Humber bridge in Hull and attempted to jump off . But I was stopped by two workers . I went to a&e and spent 7 weeks as a voluntary patient at Tickhill hospital. Since I was discharged I have been having weekly visits with the South Community Mental Health Team. And I have been managing my mental health up until this point .
In February of this year (2024) I was diagnosed with Cancer . It was agreed that they would operate on it as much as they could to remove it . In March my ex partner broke 5 of my ribs , I was hospitalised for 8 days for this . I have spent 8 times in hospital so far this year, 6 times at DRI, once at Bassetlaw and once at Weston Park cancer hospital. Because of my broken ribs they were not able to put me to sleep for the operation due to breathing difficulties so they opted for an epidural instead . They also removed my lymph nodes during the operation. 3 days later I was back at DRI because I couldn’t stop vomiting and had lost 3 stone in 5 weeks . My Oncologist recommended I have 9 cycles of treatment to try and zap the remaining cancer cells. I started this is July time and straight away I became poorly and for Colitis and was put on steroids. During this time my white blood cell count dropped very low and my infection markers were high so I was feeling very poorly . I woke up a few weeks after the treatment and my right side of my body felt funny. It was tingling but numb . I rang my cancer nurse and she said to come straight in for an appointment. I went to the appointment and they admitted me straight away. They did lots of tests and tried to put as many steroids in me via an IV drip. It came to light that the toxins from the treatment had been attacking my nerves instead of the cancer cells which led to paralysis on the right side . I was an inpatient at the hospital for 3 weeks . I was then diagnosed with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder). And now I can only walk very small distances and have to use a crutch . I’m also seeing the neurology team and a physiotherapist. So I am classed as disabled .
The day I got discharged from Weston Park hospital I had to get a taxi home as nobody came to pick me up and it was then that my ex said he wants me out . On the day I was made homeless I presented myself at the council offices and explained my predicament with the domestic violence, mental health problems , disability and my cancer . I was given a room at the Premier Inn in town centre . I wasn’t able to take my children with me as the council didn’t seem them as being homeless because they were staying with their father and my eldest 2 have work and college and youngest has school and I didn’t want to disrupt that .
I spent 2 weeks at the Premier Inn on a disabled room and during this time I bid for houses as I was put on platinum banding so it’s the highest priority. I Havnt been lucky so far but I have just bid for 3 more properties this week and I’m really hoping that I might get one of those .
Because of everything that happened in a short space of time my mental health declined rapidly so I was receiving support from the crisis team, home treatment team and, my mental health team and my creative support worker . They all could see how much this was affecting me so they wanted me to go to the crisis house in Doncaster to stay for 7 days to give me a break from everything. At first I didn’t want to go as I was worried I would lose out on my accommodation but they reassured me that they will still be able to provide me with the same accommodation not necessary in that hotel but it would be the same with accessibility and that would be suitable for my needs.
So with that reassurance I decided to go to the crisis house . I ended up staying there for 11 days but they were not able to accommodate me any further as they had other patients that had to go in . I was told by the council to ring them on the actual day I was homeless and they would sort me out . I was on the phone with them all day yesterday from 9am-4.30pm.
I received a phone call just after lunchtime saying there was a room available for me at the Prime Lodge Doncaster and I asked if it was a disabled room and if it had a lift. It didn’t have a lift and she wasn’t aware that I needed a disabled room but she said it would be ok so she booked it and we left it at that. When I told all the staff at the crisis house and my mental health team where they was going to put me they all said they think it’s a very bad idea and it will have a detrimental effect on my mental health . So I looked online and it stayed that the hostel is occupied by 97% males , is also used as a halfway house for ex prisoners Aswell as migrants . On top of that it has numerous stag parties at the weekend and people have said you won’t get any sleep here because people are banging all hours of the night . There is damp on the walls and paint landing on you from the ceiling . There is 24 hour security but that’s because of how rowdy it is and I was told by the police last night that get called out there 3/4 times a day . That is my biggest concern regarding the hostel , the men. I have left a domestic abuse relationship and I have an absolute fear of being around men now . I know not all men are bad and there’s men in all hotels but this is 97% men . I will not feel safe there at all . It is not ideal accommodation for my needs. On top of that the rooms are not disabled . The floor on the shower is very slippy and the shower doors tend to fall on you . There are also no facilities nearby I can use due to being disabled so I will just be stuck there . So myself , my mental health team and my support worker all deemed this accommodation really wasn’t suitable for me . So I refused to accept it .
They said the only other accommodation that was available was a room in Bradford which I couldn’t accept because I have to be in this area so I can attend my hospital appointments as I have an ambulance service that takes me and fetches me back . The council wouldn’t budge and they had absolutely no care or compassion for the situation I’m in . They said they didn’t seem my fear of men being a valid reason for declining the accommodation. Another of the council team said I should count myself lucky I’m not on the streets and another member of the council said ‘what are you expecting the Ritz’ , no I’m not expecting the ritz but I do expect to be housed somewhere safe and suitable for my needs .
The way I was treated by the housing team at the council yesterday was shocking . They just didn’t care . Everybody whom are trying to help me were shocked and sickened by it . The council offices then shut and I had to leave the house so I walked out very very upset . I couldn’t talk for crying and I’m trying to walk with my crutch in one hand and my suitcase in the other . I told the council team and all my team I would rather be dead than go there so that was my plan . I got a bus to the bus station and walked across to the train station and stood on platform 3 for about 90 minutes , I was sobbing and shaking but I was determined the first fast train that went past I was going to jump in front of it . During this time the police had been trying to call and locate me and sending me messages saying they are extremely concerned for my safety I ignored every text and call and concentrated on the track waiting for that train . I must have got on the wrong platform as all the fast non stopping ones were on another platform . The police had put a tracker on my phone and found me at the train station . They took me to the police station as we sat in a room and I told them everything . They was absolutely disgusted that the council think it’s appropriate to put me in a hostel full of men after everything I’ve been though with my ex. The police woman called the out of hours service and managed to get me one night in the travel lodge at lakeside . This is where I am now because a friend agreed to fund a few extra nights for me so I’m not back on the streets until it’s sorted .
My mental health team and my support worker have been on the phone all day with the council trying to sort it out but have had no luck. The council have requested all the medical documents again even though they have them and my mental health team sent them a long email to say this is not acceptable for me , the accommodation you booked for me wasn’t suitable and that it would have a massive detrimental effect to my mental health .
Now we have been told by Kate the manager that they can’t do anything for me until Friday as I have accommodation here until then. If my friend hadn’t sorted out a few extra nights I would have been back in the streets tonight and nobody in the homeless team seems to give a damn .
I am so disgusted and saddened at the treatment I have received , the lack of support , the snidy comments and the lack of compassion that I have written to our local MP Sally Jameson . She has apologised for the concerns raised and she is going to look into it .
Myself and my team of professionals have gone down every route possible to help me get suitable housing from yourself until a home that I bid for becomes available. I can’t try and start my life again until I get a home and I’m trying my absolute hardest to do that .
I was given your details Damian in the hope that you can help me. Please if there is anything you can do?
If I don’t receive an acceptable response from the council regarding finding my suitable accommodation I will have no choice but to go to the Ombudsman.
Kind regards
Laura S