Is there anything I can do?

[Allmyghosts]

Me and my kids live in a HA home, been here for 10 years. It's in a shitty area, there are gangs of teens roving about being antisocial.

I think we have been targeted because of my middle child, he is gay and not like the kids round here. Tbh we are very poor and none of us "fit in". Our windows have been put in three times.

The HA don't seem to give a shit, they just replace the windows. But tbh I'm worried about even sitting downstairs, the prospect of a brick coming through the window at any times puts me off

What would more assertive people do? Because I'm just defeated, given up.

I think you need to move. You can't stay in a house where you're not safe.

I think so, but even if they offered me a new house I couldn't afford to move.

I suspect it’s a scenario where the squeakiest wheel gets the most oil.

Call and report to the HA every single time you, your kids or your home are targeted, no matter how ‘small’.

If you think the situation is affecting your children’s wellbeing, get in touch with the pastoral teams at their school and ask for their support in putting pressure on the HA to move you.

Id also recommended contacting the charity Shelter who will be able to give you all sorts of advice on something like this.

Then I'm not sure there is a solution. Nothing is going to change if you can't get out.

Friends with a big car/van? It cost me £300 to get half a house moved into a flat - it's not an insurmountable amount of money.

You may be able to get help with moving costs

https://www.comparemymove.com/advice/removals/planning/discretionary-housing-payment#:~:text=Sometimes%20referred%20to%20as%20a,if%20you%20are%20moving%20home.

Also if you have any evidence that this harassment is linked to your son being gay, keep reporting them to police as hate crimes.

I literally have noone to help, I'm also slightly disabled after having a stroke. I feel adrift, would social services help? When my kids were little I was always in mortal fear of them, but my youngest is nearly 14.

I just can't see a way out of this nightmare.

That for that, I don't have any evidence, but I have witnessed the harrasment from local youth.

*thanks

Go to the police, not sure what the housing association could do.

If you consider that you're being targeted as a result of homophobia then you should bear in mind that it would count as a hate crime and therefore (hopefully) both the police and social services etc should be offering you a greater level of protection, again disability is a protected characteristic too so you might want to mention that. I'd be the squeeky wheel. Email EVERYONE you can think of on your local and county council and other organisations who might help; MP, housing section, police commissioner, headteacher etc Lay it out clearly, cite your protected characteristics, look up their responsibilities towards tenants/public and cite the sources/policies that are failing your family. Describe in detail the impact it is having on the health of you and your family in detail (doesn't have to be emotional but make the links clear).
Ask for a meeting by a certain date to discuss the situation with a view to being moved for the safety of you and your family. Chase just before the date and if the date passes, ring, rechase and don't stop. Tackle this like a bulldog lawyer.
I'm so sorry this is happening to you OP. Once you've sent the emails You might benefit from making a list of some small actions you can take towards helping yourself; the most critical for you is to get some local support. Even if that's simply joining a local Facebook group or finding out the contact details for a local support group then do that. Ask people to help because you need help and you've got nothing to lose by asking.

See your MP.

Police. Do they have an 'at risk/vulnerable' list? Manchester does, I'm on it. If your area has one, get on it! It makes a difference to how they respond - they do try to give you support.

Report to police every time. When we had similar problems of being targeted and harassed the police provided CCTV so they could get evidence to charge the culprits. Make sure they prioritise this as hate crime.

If they won't deal with it properly make an appointment to see your MP. They have the power to force action if it isn't being taken seriously. You can find out contact details for your local MP on You.gov under contact your MP or something similar.

I would go through the complaints process and see if it can get escalated and if no help, go to the ombudsman. I would also, at the same time, go to my MP if things were intolerable. They can help a lot. You can either write/email or attend one of their surgeries. If you look them up you can find where the are held. I don’t know what part of the country you are in but there is usually something not too far away.