Emily’s story: Moving into a new home

When we first met with Emily, she had been served a Section 21 notice by her landlord who told her he needed the property back. “It was such a nerve-wracking time”, she told us.

Many renters struggle to cover the costs of moving, even going into debt to cover deposits or moving van costs. You can help people move with a small donation to our Settle In Fund

[su_row][su_column size="1/2" center="no" class=""] “I suffer from anxiety and depression already, and so was hard.” Her son, who is 6 years old, had had a hard time settling into the school he was in at that time, and Emily was unable to work while managing her mental and physical health. Learning difficulties also made it difficult for her to find support or navigate the housing market and benefits system. [/su_column][su_column size="1/2" center="no" class=""] As sufferers of anxiety and depression will know, the condition impacted Emily’s ability to cope with the sudden crisis and the financial pressure she was facing at that time made things even more difficult. There was one week when she was down to her last £0.30p three days before she next got paid. On top of that, she was managing undiagnosed chronic pain in her back and legs, for which she had to visit A&E.

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We started to support Emily to look for properties and ease her financial situation as much as we could in the meantime, applying for Employment Support Allowance, hardship grants and energy support. But finding an affordable property in the area was difficult and disappointing at times. “The landlord was good about it – he did need the property back but it took a while to find a new place that I could afford and he was patient enough”. But it was important that we find somewhere as she did not feel safe in her home following an incident with her neighbour which endangered her safety.

We arranged viewings, attended them with her if needed, and supported Emily to register for social housing to cover all bases to find suitable housing for her and her son. As a survivor of domestic violence, we also encouraged her to try talking therapy and connected her to counselling services via local social prescribers. After several property viewings, Emily finally secured a two-bedroom property in August, close to her adult daughter is an important source support for her,

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and with a 24 month tenancy agreement having made use of the council’s incentive scheme for landlords. But the week came to move, and it dawned on Emily she didn’t have any funds to even pay for the cost of moving. “With the little money I had at the time, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to even take up the new place because I couldn’t pay to move. But Sandra stepped up and helped me pay for a moving van – it was really stressful to move because I was going into debt because of it”.

Things are starting to settle down now Emily has been in the property a few months, but the start of the tenancy was not easy. Universal Credit payments, which stopped at her change of address, in turn impacted a Discretionary Housing Payment we applied for, but we are supporting her re-application and have arranged for the housing element to be paid directly to the landlord so she can avoid going into arrears. We also successfully applied for a Glasspool grant for furniture for the new home.

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Throughout the process, Emily has managed to find the energy to also take care of her health and begin addressing trauma in her past. At first, it was helpful just to have Kineara’s practitioners to provide a listening ear, understanding and support: “It’s just how understanding they have been with me, they’ve seen me at really low points and they’ve been so beautiful and supportive and kind. I couldn’t have asked for better people to have come into my life, just so caring. Most people don’t know how to cope with me and my struggles, they were just there”.

And now she is taking steps to find counselling and is making the most of social prescribing through her GP, which is thankfully a closer walk to her new home than where she was before. “I’m glad the move is done, and also glad my son is in now new school, and he loves his new routine. So I’m starting to feeling settled now”.

“Sandra and Aisha are two of the loveliest ladies I’ve ever met. They are so kind and so supportive with everything. They have been like angels - really, they are diamonds! And I’m so thankful for them.”

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