The week in numbers
Housing Crisis Team
35 Drop-in visits
10 New registrations
Supported Accommodation
17 1-2-1 Support Sessions
4 Assisted to maximise income
Drug and Alcohol Support
16 Attendee’s to drop-in sessions
7 People met during outreach sessions
The Story of Doreen *
Doreen had worked until retirement age and was living happily. Then a family member let her know they were struggling and she offered to move to live with them and help.
She was living in a caravan in the family members garden and was happy enough, she was willing and able to help and felt valued.
Then things became difficult, the family member became more troubled and the relationship between them grew strained to the point that Doreen didn’t feel safe anymore.
She packed up what she could from the caravan and returned to Kingston in the hope of rekindling her old life, but she had fallen through an administrative crack. Her application for council housing (available to people who have lived in the borough for 5 continuous years) was rejected due to the time spent with her family member out of the borough and the clock had been reset.
When she came to us, she was 83 years old. After our initial meeting and advice, we were able to offer her a room in the Access Project and she maintained her tenancy financially independent of the state, even though her savings dwindled.
Through her time in the project, Doreen lived with multiple housemates each with their own stories and traumas, and always maintained balanced and pleasant relationships with everyone, regardless of background and circumstance.
As we waited for the years to pass, we were able to assist her in gaining pension credit to protect her savings and after a while, through our network of partners, we were able to find an affordable self-contained flat. Now aged 87, she over the moon with her current accommodation and continues to live a healthy, vivacious, independent life.
* name changed
