|
Back to Articles & Stories | Supporting People Home Page
Joe & Dawn’s Story
For 5 years Joe and Dawn had happily lived in their house with their two sons (aged 3 & 4), completely out of the blue the landlord advised them that their house was being sold: they were given one months notice to move out.
To make matters worse Dawn was suffering from depression at the time and struggled to cope. They were unable to find alternative accommodation and so ended up staying with a relative. However there wasn’t really room for them to stay so they went to Chester and District Housing Trust who referred them to a service offered by Muir Group Housing Association.
They managed to get a place in the Homeless families unit run by Muir. Though they were very apprehensive about moving in because of the bad impression they had of hostels. However, when they moved in they were pleasantly surprised: it wasn’t at all what they expected. The accommodation was self-contained with a laundry and children’s internal play area. They were completely independent.
The help they have received has given them the security they needed. They have a key worker allocated to them, who will meet with them on a regular basis to check everything is ok and will help with filling in forms, accessing services and providing emotional support.
Joe and Dawn speak highly of the staff at the hostel, saying it’s ‘just like one big family’. They now hope to soon be re-housed and would recommend the service to anyone who finds themselves in the same situation.
The service described in this article receives funding from Cheshire Supporting People. For more information on the services provided by Muir, a charitable registered social landlord, please visit Muir's website.
|