Anna’s Story
“I know that I qualify for a three-bedroom home,” Anna told me, “I’m in two-bedroom temporary accommodation now but it’s the steps that really make life so difficult.”
Anna lives on the second floor but there’s no lift, and she finds the stairs really painful. She shares her bedroom with her 14 year old son who has special needs. Her daughter, who is now 17 has the second bedroom. They are less crowded since her oldest daughter, (24), married and moved out.
Anna, (not her real name of course) came from Somalia to stay with her Auntie who was living in Wembley. That was back in 1989. After she married, Anna and her husband shared a three-bedroom private rented flat with her sister in Cricklewood. That worked out OK until the landlord kicked them out, in 1997, and the Council placed Anna, her husband and their baby daughter, Avril, in a B&B in Kilburn. They were then offered 2 bedroom temporary accommodation in Neasden where they stayed for nine years, during which time the family increased with the addition of a second daughter, Alice. Then in 2007, the family were transferred to another ‘temporary’ flat where they remain. Not long after moving to their present flat, Anna had another child, a boy, Allen, who was soon identified as having special needs. He attends a wonderful school, The Village, which takes its name from the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and reflects its ethos and commitment to their pupils. In fact, the children chose the name.
Anna’s mobility problems were triggered by an injury caused by having to carry Allen up and down the long flights of stairs several times a day because his muscles are very weak and he was unable to walk until he was five. Anna had surgery following the injury, but still had to continue carrying Allen up and down each day. She told me, “I still suffer from back pain and my legs constantly strain me”.
Allen is now a big boy and requires a lot of attention. After Anna’s husband suffered a minor stroke, his health could not cope with the overcrowded flat, so he has to stay elsewhere, retuning for visits when he is well enough.
Anna is desperate to find a suitable home without all the stairs. She bids regularly through the West London social lettings scheme, Locata. She is in Band B, which is high priority (only a handful of life and death cases merit Band A). But for the last few weeks, the online scheme simply tells her there is nothing to bid for. This has brought Anna close to despair.
Anna’s choice is limited by the fact that she needs to be within travelling distance of The Village school and she cannot risk looking for a private rented place because she needs security. If the Government finally gets round to abolishing the infamous ‘Section 21’ which allows landlords easy ‘no fault’ possession of properties, Anna said she would consider this.
When I ended my meeting with Anna, I was shocked and angry.
Shocked by the fact that this family was made homeless through no fault of their own, and have endured almost a quarter of a century in temporary accommodation. None of Anna’s children has ever known what it’s like to grow up in a permanent home.
Angry at the system that allows families to suffer in this way. That’s why we have to work together for a fairer housing system.