We have a neighbour, female, who seems to be struggling. She has a year 7 son and is divorced. The son seems very troubled and has started to behave badly, swearing, refusing to get in the car for the school run etc. This coincided with her moving a guy in. It’s obvious to us that much of the root cause of the son’s behaviour is due to the huge change in his living environment, he just seems angry all the time.
Since last summer there have been non-stop arguments, shouting and disturbances. It was so bad one night that I called the safeguarding team at the LA. While I was in the phone to them the police arrived, called by an unknown neighbour, so they advised me to call 999 and say there were officers on scene and to tell them what we’d seen and heard. They called me back to say that she had downplayed it but that they would be contacting the LA.
Since then it’s got worse, nearly every morning her and the child scream and swear at each other, and she’s often telling the guy to ‘get the fuck out of my house’. She clearly isn’t coping and I’m concerned about the child. To be honest, I’m not actually sure who the aggressor is but it’s totally toxic.
Yesterday she was screaming and shouting virtually all day, and once again the police were called. We could hear what she was saying on the doorstep to them as our windows were open, it was a load of minimising horseshit. The child was at school when all this happened.
I’m really concerned about this child and his environment. He is at the age where his behaviour could worsen to the extent that it affects his life going forward. The mother and her partner both have a disability which affects communication so I don’t think they realise how loud all this is, and that it’s being played out to the whole street. The partner is non verbal but signs. I’m really not sure what else we (neighbours) can do but to keep calling this in. It’s a quiet street usually and this person works in education, so certainly knows how to get help.