Hello, everyone. Thank you for tuning into another video. I’m sorry I haven’t posted, I’ve been really unwell. I had to go to hospital yesterday and I still have a very high fever and quite a bad cough. And it’s just been really difficult to even kind of move around or do anything or read, or kind of focus on my phone. 

So I wanted to use this opportunity to cover a video in terms of information and kind of first steps of homelessness, and the procedure that I’ve had to kind of follow and that probably most people will follow, if you’re in my position, too. 

So originally I became homeless in November 2019, and I actually luckily just got my own place in September 2020. So that’s just under a year waiting for kind of proper accommodation. And then before that, I was pretty much living in hotels. 

So the process starts with you getting a referral or kind of contacting homeless persons unit. This is probably the most tricky part because they don’t have the resources for the amount of capacity that is out there. So you kind of really have to persevere if you really do want a referral and you kind of have to really show your need. 

So you when you apply for the application of homelessness, you have to provide your previous address. You have to show all your finances. And then, of course, how many people you’re looking for homelessness for. Like, if you have a family or if you’re by yourself, like me. 

Then the local authority – so this is one in London for me – they provide you with a unique reference and then you contact the housing offices through that process. They also give you they either give you a text notification or a booking confirmation by paper to give you kind of information on your accommodation. 

You can be placed anywhere in London, it doesn’t have to be in East. Sometimes they’re nice and they try to place you as close to where you are from – say if the kids have school and stuff and all that. But most of the time I was never placed in my borough. It was usually placed outside of my borough, still in east London, but generally quite far. And in places that I’ve never been before.

And then you just have this hotel room to yourself. You get weekly confirmations, so every time you have to show the same process again. So you have to fill in the housing benefit. You have to show your need. You don’t have to fill in the big form, but you definitely have to keep showing them that you still need to continue to be housed. And then this is all while you’re trying to find a kind of suitable accommodation that’s not a hotel, because there’s no cooking or refrigeration. 

So they generally prioritise people with children. So for someone like myself, a single man or single woman, they tend to put you quite low down. And I did explain that I have multiple disabilities, but it’s really difficult to get the council to take my health seriously and to get me the access that I needed and the services that I needed from social care.

Initially, I did end up having a carer for a few weeks whilst I was in hotels, which was very valuable, invaluable, really, because I couldn’t get around or do anything. And like I said, it was really expensive, there was no refrigeration or cooking. You had to kind of manage on your own however you could. You had to always eat unhealthy food. I really like fruits and vegetables. So to not be able to have healthy food was really difficult. 

And of course, all of this is temporary. So you’re continually displaced. I didn’t have much stuff. I just had one rucksack of like basic clothes, really. 

So what I highly encourage is if you do finally get that shining light of a moving date, you kind of ask them to give you access with a key before that, because there’s a lot of things that you have to fix and sort out before you can actually physically move in. And for me, this was really tricky because the first two or three days I didn’t have any electricity or any gas because there were just always complications. They just make the whole process so difficult. 

And yeah, you end up really missing out if you don’t have the procedures in place and you don’t know what you’re doing. So you have to change your address, make sure you’re on the electoral roll, make sure you have them reinstate the water, the gas, the electricity, make sure it’s all running.

I actually had squatters, like I mentioned the previous video, so that was 70 pounds of unpaid debt on electricity and 60 on gas. So you had to prove that you you are who you say you are and that you’re a new person on the tenancy agreement. All of this gets turned off, especially if you move into a property maybe that’s been housed by people or people haven’t paid their bills and stuff. So, yeah, so it’s really hard to get it all back up and running again to try and do it whilst you’re not living at the place.

You also need to find your local GP. Call NHS and then just ask for like local facilities and what GPs near you, and then contact them directly with your specific needs. If you have children or you have disabilities – I was having difficulty getting out of the house – so luckily, Groundswell helped me get myself registered on to a GP for my medication. I would also register with the local pharmacy. Luckily, my one has free delivery for my medication because I can’t actually get to them. 

And then just be aware in terms of how you pay your bills of course. I know when you’re kind of in this position and state, you’re always kind of struggling for money. And my rent is a thousand pounds and that’s a lot of money per month, paying, especially most of my benefits going towards that.

So you will have most likely have one of those key charging meters for your gas and electricity. It depends on how you feel. But obviously, because I can’t get out, it’s easier for me to have them one a bill. The main thing I would suggest is get meters for everything. So get a meter for water, get a meter for electricity, get a meter for gas, because that way you can really monitor how much you’re spending and pay exactly what you’re spending. Otherwise, the companies will definitely overcharge you and they’ll charge you according to a forecast rather than what you’re actually spending. 

I think that covers all of the main information that I wanted to tell you today. If you have any questions again, leave them in the comments and I’ll I’ll get back to them as soon as I can.

I hope you guys have a good week and hopefully I’ll be in touch again with another video. Speak too soon. Bye.

 

This community reporter has chosen to remain anonymous.