To wonder about emergency acc

[Lalalala3]

If you were going to be homeless and placed in temp accommodation with a toddler...

Where do they sleep? Will there be enough beds for 3 people to sleep in? If you have to go out all day, what do you do - especially in the winter and raining? If there's no family or friends in the area to visit to go and see etc and you can't stay away from the b&b in case you risk your spot...

If you are not allowed a microwave in room and there's no kitchen - what do you eat? If on benefits etc how do you afford to eat out for at least two meals a day?

Do they have bedding? How would you store milk for toddler/butter for toast in the morning? I don't understand how it's meant to work. Where do all their toys and clothes go...

There should be enough beds. If not there are charities that can supply you with one.

I'm afraid most people live on bread, anything you can eat with bread, and anything you can cook in or with a kettle.

Look to your local food banks, they usually supply food that can be prepared in a hostel. Also, look for local food kitchens, where you can eat in as a family for a donation of pennies.

If it's a temporary accommodation b&b, as opposed to a hotel, it'll probably be slightly different; you may get a loo, sink, fridge and microwave in the room and a TV port, but joint kitchen and shower.

You don't have to stay out all day, but the room's likely to be small, so you'll want to get out. Go to children's centre, if there's one local for stuff to do for free.

The room door should have it's own lock and key, so you won't risk anything by going out. You'll be getting housing benefit for the rent and the council won't double book the space.

Ok. If you turn up at the council with your bags etc and they have to send you miles away, do they give you a taxi? How do you get there? We do not have a car seat as we do not drive, but two family members in other counties do have ones for when we visit.

We have no car and wouldn't be able to bring things like car seat with us as it's too big. We would already have a suitcase each and bags on the handles of the pushchairs etc

Do they allow you to stay overnight with family or do they see it as "you're not really homeless" if you can stay with family for visits? I'm wondering as I have family who would let me stay a few nights a week to get proper food etc in another county, but worry they will see me as not a priority then. They are not willing to let us move in with them, it's just visiting.

Also if you haven't lived in the Local Authority borough for long enough to be on a Housing Register, then this means they only have to put you in temp accommodation at the end of it all, right? Do they even have a duty to house you as homeless if you only lived here 2 years?

If you don't meet the criteria for social housing in the borough (i.e. length of residency) then unless there are extenuating circumstances they will find they have no duty to place you in permanent social housing - but as a family with children they'll assist you with other housing options which could include helping find something in the private sector and arranging for a guarantor bond if you can't afford your own.

You can't stay with family and friends several nights a week, you'll be required to register in and out of the hostel to prove you are staying there or they will rescind the accommodation: it prevents people fraudulently claiming to be homeless to get permanent housing then staying elsewhere until they get it. The odd night away here or there is fine, but quite rightly if you have people willing to put you up regularly and long-term then that's where you should be, not taking up a resource which could be given to people who genuinely have no other option.

The other stuff is council-dependent; but yes, they will usually provide travel vouchers if you are placed some distance away, and whilst not luxurious, most emergency accommodation isn't terrible: there will usually be basic cooking facilities.

Some temp acco is b&b and these vary - some do have access to a kitchen others do not. You do just have to make do and learn how to cook with just a kettle/toaster. (Quietly whispers - if you know anyone who has spent time in prison ask them about this) There will be enough beds but you do often have little else. You will have to keep all toys and clothes in bags most likely and it may be pretty miserable. My brother lived in 1 for 6 months until April and I will not lie it was grim. He could stay there during the day but had no cooking facilities or access to a fridge. He had no access to laundry facilities but did have his own bathroom.

Others b&b types are more like bedsits or small flats and you will have cooking facilities. Again you will not have much room but you will find this easier.

Some is actual proper flats or houses - the house next door to me is emergency accomadation.

It really depends on what is available in your area on the day - but if you have children they will try and move you to a more suitable place quickly.

They may well provide a taxi for you if not they may refer to other services who will. Have you made arrangements for all your other belongings? Try and keep what you can as you may need it again in the future - do you have someone who can store some stuff for you? This is your time to call in some favours if you can.

Good luck - I know how traumatic and worrying this time will be for you - but it will pass and you will have a better time in the future. Hang on in there and don't worry too much - even if you get the worst option you will be moved quickly. My brother said it was rare for the families to be in there for more than a couple of weeks they were moved to better accomadation quickly. He was a single male and wanted to be as close to mine as possible to spend his time with us - so he stayed the longest.

Please remember this is just a short time in your life - my brother now has a lovely flat!

If you don't meet the criteria for social housing in the borough (i.e. length of residency) then unless there are extenuating circumstances they will find they have no duty to place you in permanent social housing - but as a family with children they'll assist you with other housing options which could include helping find something in the private sector and arranging for a guarantor bond if you can't afford your own.
So we would be put in emergency accommodation only with no temp? I understand no permanent social housing, we would qualify but haven't lived here for 5 out of the past 7 years (we haven't even lived here 5 years) so cannot join register.

You can't stay with family and friends several nights a week, you'll be required to register in and out of the hostel to prove you are staying there or they will rescind the accommodation: it prevents people fraudulently claiming to be homeless to get permanent housing then staying elsewhere until they get it. The odd night away here or there is fine, but quite rightly if you have people willing to put you up regularly and long-term then that's where you should be, not taking up a resource which could be given to people who genuinely have no other option.

I wouldn't call a couple of nights a week regular or long-term. I often visit family atm for up to a week at a time, but I don't live there and I'm not invited to move-in ifyswim. How can they infer that because family allow weekend overnight visits or whatever that they are willing to house you indefinitely every day of the week etc?

My brother lived in 1 for 6 months until April and I will not lie it was grim. He could stay there during the day but had no cooking facilities or access to a fridge.
I hope there's a fridge somewhere. My daughter still has milk at night to sleep with so I would need somewhere to store it. I've no idea what to cook with just a kettle other than pot noodle etc, what can you make for a toddler with just that? What do you eat for breakfast, just bread? it's not even like we'll have fruit

Sorry

And thank you :)

Don't know anybody who has been to prison though

Who are your family / friends? My sister had us for quite a few weeks when we were homeless. It was tough (her house is a v small 2 bed) but decidedly the best thing for the children. They don’t really remember the time as traumatic, just an extended stay with family. Are you really really sure you can’t explore that option a bit more? I would host a family member or friend in a heartbeat in circumstances like this?

They are my grandparents. They are 70. I do not have any friends who have their own homes. Extended family have no spare rooms, GPs do but it is basically an extension of their bedroom (all my grandads clothes and stuff are in their). The problem is that they probably would welcome me and DD, but they absolutely do not get on with DP (it's mutual) and DP would refuse to move in with them, which would split us up as a family. Desperate times I know but I want to avoid that :(

Do you think breakfast biscuits are OK for breakfast? I am lucky that my DD likes dry cereal anyway or uht milk? Sorry just caught that comment

Hi op. It really depends on whether you're thinking you'll access an emergency hostel, where you reserve your bed each night and have to leave during the day... or a b&b whereby you're allocated a room for a few nights that you can use as you wish (usually limited facilities and honestly not usually in a great area, but there just to get you back on your feet).
If you phone up your local council they'll be able to advise. Where are you now and what options are you hoping for moving forward? Do either of you have any support/key workers or professionals involved with you? Social worker?

My mum runs a b&b with self catering on the side and often has the council calling to book her for temp accomodation they (council) try to book self catering and will take any days avalible sometimes if there's already a booking in the time try need it for they'll move the person again temporarily

You won't be alowed a microwave in the room of a b&b as it voids their insurance in most but not all cases but if you provide one a mini fridge is often ok unfortunately it'll be cold diners sandwiches pot noodle type thing for a while my dps kitchen is in their own home section of the b&b so don't allow customers in also health and safety issues but are happy to store milk ect in their fridges as long as they're not woken up in the night needing it for a cuppa

You wont have a daily deep clean so toys ect just pile In a corner sometimes people request no cleans for privacy but dps will pop in at least twice a week to do the bathroom minimum
Laundry if there's a laundrett near you'll be expected to use that if none about you might be able to do a load in the evening once all the owners sheets ect have gone through

We use a launderette currently anyway. Just worried about having enough changes of clothes etc and keeping DD fed well and making sure she has some kind of milk for her bedtime.

I think a family member may be able to rent a storage unit and removal van for us to store some stuff in that we can't take with us. I'd be devastated if her toys got thrown away envause we couldn't take them all with us etc

There is a skill to bed-sit living. You can make couscous with a kettle & some stock powder. Buy cooked chicken and tomatoes or salad. Instant soups, powdered milk, fruit that keeps like apples & bananas. Chip shop chips split between 3, add ham. Bread & jam & an apple fro breakfast. It gets a bit monotonous after a while but it can be done. Good luck.

Sorry you're going through this OP. Where I live, I know the council will only put people with children in a b&b in a dire emergency and very short term. I know that's not the case everywhere though. Have you been assigned a housing officer?

Also, meant to ask if you've spoken to Shelter?

You can boil an egg in a kettle.. dippy egg and soldiers?

most emergency accom it's fine to stay with friends or family for a night or two.
Good grief when I was there, there was one family with a toddler who were literally never there. They didn't get thrown out. It will depend on the support worker.

also, there was a kitchen.

You can make couscous with a kettle & some stock powder. Buy cooked chicken and tomatoes or salad. Instant soups, powdered milk, fruit that keeps like apples & bananas. Chip shop chips split between 3, add ham. Bread & jam & an apple fro breakfast. It gets a bit monotonous after a while but it can be done. Good luck.

You can boil an egg in a kettle.. dippy egg and soldiers?

Thanks :) good ideas. Not sure I could do the soldiers as might not have a toaster etc, but maybe just bread and butter for soldiers is fine.

We are in London. Definitely going to be moved outside the borough, council said "likely won't be in London",

I've visited a few emergency accommodation places in the course of my work, and the ones used in the 2 council areas I work in have some sort of cooking facilities and a fridge in the rooms, and en suite bathrooms. Councils prefer this type of accommodation because it counts as self-contained and the council won't be breaching government guidance if they leave families with children in there.

The b&b will provide the number of beds required by the family, but I don't know about cots, simply because I've never worked with a family with a child young enough to need one. In one case, this meant bunk beds, a single and a double all crammed into one room. However, that particular emergency accommodation also has some self-contained flats, and the family were very quickly moved into one of these.

Here, neither of the councils will provide transport to the accommodation, families have to find their own way there, even if it's 60 miles away. (When there's none available locally, they use a place on the far side of the next county).

They will put your stuff into storage for you, but you have to pay for that.

Practices almost certainly vary from council to council though.

I'm feeling a bit better now. It's not an immediate thing... It's just I am planning ahead. As it stands we have already been moved from one property due to structural work being done on the flat. I am worried that if we were to get a notice that I wouldn't be able to move out ("No DSS, also guarantor and won't have months of rent for a deposit), so would likely end up in emergency accommodation, but I haven't lived here long enough to join housing register. My previous property I also did not live there long enough to join register, so not sure any council would have a duty to house us long ternm tbh. The council I grew up in and lived in for 17 years , it's been 5 years since I lived there so they have no duty either etc

I am on a waiting list for therapy here atm. We previously has SS involvement for prebirth assesment but were discharged and have no involvement now. We had a family support worker for a bit but not since DD turned 2.

It depends on the accom availability in your area i guess but i dont think you would be placed somewhere without kettle or microwave. I worked in homeless support for years and ime hostels/b&bs with no facilities tend to be for single folk.

I was given the choice between a studio within the homeless unit or a temp flat.