Being homeless during 2020
At the start of the year, Mr D had a steady cleaning job. However, through a series of unfortunate events when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, he fell into financial difficulty.
Unable to keep up with rent payments, he lost his home and once his employer found out about his homeless status, he also lost his job.
For a while he was able to stay with a friend, but after some time, his friend lost his patience and gave him a deadline to move out.
Stressed by the urgency of his situation, he went to his local authority Hammersmith and Fulham for help. He was anxious to quickly find a home and was willing to move anywhere in the UK and so, his council reffered him to Homefinder UK, the national mobility scheme.
When Homefinder UK Service Manager Brenda Fraser contacted him, he was stressed by the fragility of his situation and desperate to quickly find a place to call his own. Luckily, Homefinder UK had an immediately available one-bedroom studio flat in Widnes, which Brenda informed him of. Eager to secure this property Mr D expressed an interest without delay and his documents were submitted to Clarion Housing.
To the frustration and disappointment of Mr D, lockdown restrictions prevented viewing and sign-up from being arranged. Initially, his friend was understanding and extended his offer to stay in his home. However, weeks turned into months, and with his friend’s added concern over contracting the coronavirus, his friend asked him to leave.
Fortunately, a local church had decided to shelter homeless people during the nights. As such, Mr D was saved from sleeping on the streets. However, night after night of sleeping on the cold hard floor and spending all his days struggling to secure housing left Mr D exhausted. This difficult period continued for around a month before his luck changed.
Homefinder UK's manager, Brenda, had been regularly contacting Clarion but their housing officers would not conduct viewings during the lockdown. As such, the Homefinder UK team searched elsewhere and thankfully, discovered that Sanctuary Housing was conducting viewings during lockdown and that they had an available 1-bed flat. Mr D’s case manager worked with determination to arrange the viewing and sign-up as soon as possible, and dates were confirmed for just two weeks after the submission of his documents.
Mr D accepted the property and now has a safe and secure place to call home.
When asked about the property after the move, Mr D told his case manager: “I like the flat and I am glad to have a roof over my head. Thank you for your patience, I am very grateful to you.”