Homeless help

[Ilovecustardxx]

Myself, partner and daughter have been made homeless today - our landlords were selling our house - council advised us to stay until the last minute - which we did and we have now been placed in a b&b.
has anyone been in a similar situation? We currently have no cooking facilities and no money right now - as my partner is long term sick and I have taken some time off work due to my mental health with all this stress, so can’t get takeaways and things like that. we are in a pretty run down place with a shared bathroom and some very loud neighbours!
What can I do to cook meals?! How can I take the best of this for my 5 year old? At the moment it’s an adventure for her but I’m in pieces! I have no clue how long we will be here - no family very nearby either. We are also 2 bus rides away from
my daughters school, no car as had to scrap it due to broken gearbox, we’ve had it all thrown at us recently!

You could try and appeal once you’re in, if you have any reason why your dd might have to stay in the same school eg any SEN etc? It is tricky if they’re not exam year otherwise it’s not taken into account.

i’m sorry op and I hope you’re able to bid and can find a permanent home soon.

Really sorry to hear this OP. Its especially hard when you have a child.

State of this country.

@Eastie77Returns if you didn’t have a child you’d be unlikely to get help. Yes, this country is a mess.

We are just taking each day as it comes at the moment, the weather isn’t so bad so going to the park today. Haven’t told DD about school change yet - need to look at schools in new area first. Again thank you for everyone’s replies and support

How far away is place ?

Talk to current school about getting help with costs

It’s 15 miles away

Is it doable to take public transport the 15 miles for now until more permanent housing so you don’t have to change schools several times?

ive had a look into it - it’s about a 2 hour trip. Public transport system is blooming rubbish!
so yes it’s kind of doable - but it means a lot of travelling for I don’t know how long. I’m not sure what the lesser of 2 evils is here

Councils do pay towards costs

Def ask

Are there any cafes nearby that do 'pay it forward' meals?
Any chance someone could lend you either a camping stove or a plug in hob until you have a kitchen?
Hope you get sorted soon.

I'm sorry you've been through so much OP.

Being worried about your partner's heart attack, losing part of household income, being worried about becoming homeless, looking on your own after your 5 year old daughter and your partner. It's a lot for one person to go through!

No wonder you can't carry on working now and you need time to recover after all of it. You have done a great job all this time to carry on, look after your family, secure any kind of council accommodation and apply for all the benefits. Most people have no idea how hard it is to do all of this on top of everything else while you have a rough time in your life.

I doubt there's plenty of families who won't end up homeless if one the partners will stop suddenly working for more than a few months.

I'm sorry to hear council will give you only one room in a shared house. But, you are right, at least you'll have a shared kitchen, which is better than no kitchen.

I wish you all the best OP, look after yourself, don’t give up, keep thinking positive, one day everything will be good again for your family. I know it's easier to say than do, but try not to be too harsh on yourself because it's definitely not your fault or your partner's fault. One day you'll solve your health issues, get back to work and life will be great again. 💐💐💐

Thank you so so much for these kind words x

I'm so sorry to hear this OP. Do you have a contact at the housing team who placed you there? Or any other professional support? If so, ask for ...

Food bank referral
Household support fund referral (supermarket vouchers)
Emergency assistance referral - it may help
With kitchen bits you need.

Good luck and sending big
Hugs x

All the suggestions above are helpful. Maybe also a rotisserie chicken once every while (expensive I know) with a salad pack and bread just to help with protein. I'm so sorry to hear you are in this situation, so many people are finding housing to be precarious.

If neither of you are working and you have little or no family/friend support around, then I would move to a different (cheaper) area while daughter is only very young, just so that this hopefully never happens again so your daughter has some stability. This is shocking that you’re being treated like when you have a 5 year old.

An update for all, we are still in b&b, life is tough, but at least we have each other!
council say that there is nothing suitable for us, so for now we wait.
we are still in financial trouble as we aren’t able to cook, its an expensive way to live, and I’m hating not having a kitchen!

Sorry things are still tough

Sadly may be a few months till a property is free

Are you allowed a microwave so can do some micro meals or heat up soup /tins

Hope things improve OP, it's a terrible situation.Has the council given a timescale?

@Ilovecustardxx council are only meant to leave you in a b&b for 6 Weeks. It can go over a bit .but really should be 6 weeks. Some Councils can be awful . They either ignore completely or fob you off . Kick up a big fuss about why they need to move you. Play on everything you can think of and go a bit ott with it.

I’m sorry to hear this @Ilovecustardxx I wondered how you were getting on. I can imagine the lack of a kitchen is particularly hard and the biggest cause of financial hardship. With the school holidays coming up your DD’s school might be able to signpost you to free lunches you can access for her over the summer? I’m not sure if you are in London - my friend works for an East London council that does a huge amount of outreach during the holidays providing food parcels for children who qualify for FSM and I think several over councils here do the same

Have the storage costs kicked in yet as I think you said they were only covered by the council for 3 months? I don’t know if it helps but I know most of the big storage companies offer heavy discounts for the first few weeks of use if you need to and can move your belongings. I used Big Yellow Storage at a reduced tariff for 12 weeks.

Sorry I don’t have any other practical advice. I hope you are moved into stable accommodation soon.

You can put a couple of eggs to boil in the kettle. Just time them. You can buy oat pots for breakfast too, just add boiling water. You could buy some ham and have a salad for lunch. You could also boil tiny new potatoes in a kettle of water. If you leave the lid off it won't cut out.

@Ilovecustardxx Any update? Still thinking of you and wondering if there’s anything we can help with?

Can you not buy a microwave then u will be able to cook things, porridge is cheap and nutritional for breakfast. You can also cook vegetables etc in and look out for a slow cooker which often xan be found cheaply in charity shops. If your other half is sick there will be benefits you can apply for. You may be entitled to a Carers Allowance. I advice you to get in touch with Citizen's Advice.

People in B and B risk getting thrown out if they take electricals like a microwave and slow cooker into their rooms.

Any update OP?

You need to call shelter , the council has legal limits as to how long they can keep you in a non self contained ie shared facilities as a family I think its 6 weeks. Then they will move you into temporary accommodation , usually its a one offer deal you take it or they will withdraw the b&b place so be aware . If your council has a bidding system for permanent accommodation and put you on it bid like crazy and take what you can get as your homeless you have a better priority otherwise you be in temp accommodation forever. Also manage your expectations as to what you can be expected to be offered and know its not forever and good luck from a ex local authority homeless person housing officer