Im homeless and disabled..

FluffyAngel

Last Thursday morning i was evicted from a house that i lived in for 5 years
There was no arrears,and it was done with grace and understanding
the landlord had run out of options to support me ,he had tears as we hugged..


In 2013 i was diagnosed with a rare enough disease call syringomela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrinx_(medicine)
the impact of the disease has blown apart my mind,body,and soul
and has resulted in me being in a wheelchair 98percent, i am incontinent and struggle with it everyday,i have spasms,chronic pain ,nerve damage etc etc
everyday is a struggle with pain,and all the meds do is making me sleepy

throughout the last few years i have made my condition known to the council as i was on there waiting list,letters were given from doctors,pyhsio,occupatienal therapy,you name it it was given..i had got a lot of false promises from them "we have a house for you,heres a list to get ,bring it back and the house is yours,time and time again i did as i was told' they knew for the last 8 months i had to leave

i owed my landlord arrears of two months and heres why i had arrears
i applied for carers allowance last year,it took me two months to get forms and finally they got it in November,my son appield for a supplement payment and within 60 seconds my rent allowance was done 30 euros ,no matter what i tried to do i was always late and short of moneys,but my landlord understood..

i done everything possible,begged the cwo to support me,her answer was no
the reason i was evicted was the landlord needed to sell up,in his words,i was in his pension, i needed a electric bed,raised toilet,walking frame,etc.i was living in the front room ,that wi tried every house where i live,and nobody wanted me and my bits in house

i contacted disability allowance the hope that it could be pushed along,after 8 months theres no descion made,nothing i said made a difference,i told them that i was being evicted and as i was no fixed abode i wasn't entitled to any payment ,they agreed
I contacted disability in longford and they stopped payment

i contacted simon covenys office and all they had was a phone number for a homeless unit 70 miles away ,no empathy for me and being homeless

Endas office failed to contact me

despite speaking to the dept of social protection and explaing my situation,they failed to act on my behalf

Tried to explain to them i was disabled and there is no homeless unit in west cork
no phone number to contact,nothing ,zilch i was up the river without a paddle

i used twitter to contact them but no response,theres no care,at 46years old I'm fully disabled and homeless ,i can't believe that nobody cared for homeless disabled man enough to put any kind of roof over my head,i had to double check that i was still in Ireland

my cwo failed to provide any support,when i asked for bed and breakfast,hotel,hostel she told me to find one and bring a proposal and they would consider it,this was 3pm on a bank holiday Friday.

i had slept in my car two days and by Friday i was a wreck and putting my life in danger,my doctor urged me to get to hospital,for the last two days i have been in hospital,mri etc etc my mobility is gone and I'm scared

I'm sitting in hospital with a nappy on and a piss bag and I'm homeless:(

my question to boards is "what next" through out the last few years i have tried to work with compassion and empathy ,but I'm finding it very hard when on the day i was evicted the health board rang to get their aids back

What would you do next?


if your going to troll/annoy please consider this,I'm human and hurting

tomwaterford

Have you any family??

Failing that go and sit in at the social welfare office until it's sorted

What's the point in a dept of social welfare if they won't help you when it's needed

everlast75

contact a local politician. they might be able to intervene on your behalf.

I really hope your situation improves OP!

Dubwat

Go to your local housing unit and tell them you're not leaving because you have nowhere to go.

Tell the media (newspapers/TV/etc) in advance what you're doing (but make your story a bit shorter) and they'll probably send along a reporter and/or cameraman.

Time your visit so it can make the 1 o'clock news. They'll be under pressure to fix it before the 6 o'clock news?

Wibbs

Jesus christ. :(:( and with a lot more of this :mad::mad: Even more :mad: when there are able bodied cúnts milking the system out there who turn down housing.

I dunno what to say to begin to help F. I'd agree with TomW's suggestions. If you have no family that can help I'd sit in the welfare office and piss all over their floor unit something is done. You have nothing to lose. Cause a ruckus. I'd maybe contact the media to and use them. They love a story like this and it might help get you sorted. Nothing moves a TD's well padded arse like bad publicity.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Jesus I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that you're taken care of and get sorted out quickly. Best of luck.

Edgarfrndly

This is disgraceful. As someone living with long-term illness, I fully understand the difficulties this state puts in front of you to get support. I had to apply for disability benefit three times before I was accepted. I'm lucky enough to be able to still live at home with my parents, or I too would be homeless or some place worse.

My words won't mean much to you - but you have my empathy and my love.

Please consider contacting a local politician or focus Ireland to see if they can assist you with accommodation.

You need help, and deserve help. It's a crime that you're in this situation.

ScouseMouse

Holy ****e. I have never read anything like that in my life. This country is sooooo ****ed up its a disgrace.

I wish you the very best. Its hard to know what to do except park yourself in casualty and have people harass your local TD.

Please keep us posted and hopefully something will come up.

Edgarfrndly

OP - I've sent you a message. An old friend of mine is a TD in Cork, and I'll make sure your case gets some attention. If you send me on your mobile number in a PM - I'll pass it onto him and make sure he contacts you.

Don't feel alone. A lot of people will empathise with your situation and try their best to help you.

Superhorse

Really sorry for the situation OP. Wise I could help makes my blood boil hearing this and at the same time Da Bert and others of his ilk make out with gold plated gangster pensions.

They say you judge a society by how it treats its most in need of help, if that's the case this nation falls very short indeed.

The_Kew_Tour

I can offer you nothing, but I hope everything works out and sooner then later

Wibbs

Superhorse wrote: »

They say you judge a society by how it treats its most in need of help, if that's the case this nation falls very short indeed.

To be fair to this country S, it really doesn't. There are plenty of nations, including western industrialised nations where there would be near zero options beyond charity. Ireland isn't particularly bad this way at all. It would be one of the better ones IMH.

If anything there are so many safety nets that too many chancers take advantage of and have made welfare types suspicious and folks like F can fall through the cracks. All too often because they don't kick up enough of a fuss or have visible lobby groups to support them and it can most certainly be a case of the squeaky wheel gets the oil as far as welfare goes in Ireland.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I wonder will a newspaper hack pick up on this story and run with it rather than that gangster thread full of Walter Mitty types getting their jollies off at scum killing (mostly) scum.

OP sorry I don't have any answer's.. This country leaves me fooking infuriated, it really fooking does. I'm rapidly growing the hate the kip.

FluffyAngel

hi,i have one sister who i love dearly,but she hasn't space,i was offered her couch.the problem is if i move out of west cork,then i will be living in city and that makes me ineligible for claiming I'm living in west cork

there is nobody else

im a person who went through the industrial school system,carunua (support set up by govment just ignored me,i asked them to help with a wheelchair and the phone was put down

i can't believe that over a weekend no homeless services are avabile in the largest county in Ireland

i contacted the housing minister and minister for social protection not a whisper out of them ,they were made aware that i was ill and sleeping rough,even twitter didn't get a response

my gut tells me that this is a national disgrace that there is no homeless unit for west Cork

how we treat disabled people and make them wait ten months for carers,my 18 year old son has wiped places daylight hasn't seen,and yet as a carer he gets a hundred euro to be on call 24/7 and ignored and treated as a nobody by the "caring" system

Edward Hopper

Stay in the hospital OP, they should have a discharge planner, who in turn should have a relationship with a social worker. They cannot discharge you from hospital if you have no place to go which is suitable.

Not what you want, but it's a roof over your head, clean bed and food.

By the by it doesn't sound like you're medically fit for discharge yet anyway.

Spanish Eyes

Try ringing the people at this number for a start. It might open a few doors, or they may be able to point you in the right direction.

National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities

http://www.citizensinformationboard.ie/en/services/advocacy/

I am so sorry you are going through this OP. You must be so scared I wish I could offer you some help or some hope.

Just mind yourself as best you can x

Under_Graduate

unbelievable situation.

get the focking tv cameras out n light a fire under the ass of watever incompetents allowed this situation to arise.

get on the blower op, if u have money enough for 10 euro credit - unlimited calls on meteor.
google every media outlet contact, county councilor and TD in your locality and beyond, and delineate your situation, including the withdrawal of ur allowance.

Be articulate and clear - some1 will listen and take action on ur behalf eventually.
keep calling and being proactive until u get resolution.

if u had disability, ur entitled to free legal aid; some1 needs to fry in court for this.

the screening process for social welfare in this country is embarrassing.

college girls claiming welfare so they can have extra party money at the weekend, whilst folk like this are excluded.

Wibbs

FluffyAngel wrote: »

how we treat disabled people and make them wait ten months for carers,my 18 year old son has wiped places daylight hasn't seen,and yet as a carer he gets a hundred euro to be on call 24/7 and ignored and treated as a nobody by the "caring" system

If your son is your primary carer he should be getting close to double that. I'd be looking into that for a start.

Edward Hopper wrote: »

Stay in the hospital OP, they should have a discharge planner, who in turn should have a relationship with a social worker. They cannot discharge you from hospital if you have no place to go which is suitable.

Not what you want, but it's a roof over your head, clean bed and food.

By the by it doesn't sound like you're medically fit for discharge yet anyway.

+1. Especially the social worker relationship. Being admitted to hospital in such circumstances can really get the wheels turning.

SEPT 23 1989

There is a place reserved in hell for those cwo

Go to a hospital and don't move until your sorted

Those who shout loudest

picturehangup

Hi OP,

Please be reassured that you have everyone's attention, love and support currently. Your plight is simply just unacceptable in this day and age. Please keep the faith, there are very good people who will get you sorted out, and you should not even have to go and seek.

Disability provision in this country is just a joke, having had much dealings with government bodies on behalf of my autistic son.
Your case is simply shocking, and I wish I could help you somehow. What part of the country are you in? That would be a start.

I agree with the above posters re. contacting media. I would also give liveline a call, this is what it is for, when politicians fail to acknowledge the suffering of our own people on our own doorstep. My blood is at boiling point. You could be my son when I am dead and gone, even though my Husband and i have paid income tax for some 70 years between us.

Remember, that this will pass, you will get sorted, please keep us updated on progress.

snubbleste

OP, this is Ireland.
We care more about bodies on Mediterranean beaches and homeless people in Calais and other parts of Europe then our own who end up without a roof.

If you're in the hospital now, demand a social worker and call a politician on the hospital board - google the councillors that sit in your area and demand their assistance. Also, call the local parish priest who may have contacts in charities.

emo72

also the whole "no services available, its the weekend"? these are emergency services for homeless sick people. if you become homeless on a friday afternnon? tough titty? cant believe it came to this. especially when the guy was looking for help in advance.

12Phase

Please raise this with as many media outlets as you can. It's the only way you'll get serious pressure on.

If anyone on this thread knows how to contact Paul Byrne in TV3 it might be a start.

Ring the examiner and ask to speak to someone who covers social affairs 021 4 27 27 22

Also try contacting Jonathan Healy at Newstalk
@jonathanhealy on Twitter.

Also email cork@rte.ie and just briefly outline the issue and ask if Jennie or Pascal could contact you.

Much as it might annoy people here, in Kerry we have one answer.

You contact the Healy Raes, it'd get sorted.

There must be some fellow in Cork who will shout at some civil servant, you may not really be Coveneys target voter, I had a sister in South Central who said Micheal Martin was good to follow up on stuff but no idea myself.

Specialun

So sorry to hear this op. If everybody on here can please tweet the thread to media outlets or to anybody holding any power..lets all try to help this guy out anyway we can

Specialun

Specialun wrote: »

So sorry to hear this op. If everybody on here can please tweet the thread to media outlets or to anybody holding any power..lets all try to help this guy out anyway we can

Frankly, I'm never sure about the media as a tool at all.

Publicity often forces everyone to retreat to trenches and defend their position and why decisions were made. It can prove to be an obstacle to getting a problem sorted. I'd always advise people to be very careful about bringing in the media.

musiknonstop

Minister Finian McGrath's website is here http://www.finianmcgrath.ie/index.cfm/page/contact
For what it's worth, I've contacted him re. the OP's post. I'm sorry I can't do more to help.

Specialun

Deleted User wrote: »

Frankly, I'm never sure about the media as a tool at all.

Publicity often forces everyone to retreat to trenches and defend their position and why decisions were made. It can prove to be an obstacle to getting a problem sorted. I'd always advise people to be very careful about bringing in the media.

Possibly so but if you dont ask then you dont get

Gatling

Imagine if this was all a wind up

Specialun

Specialun wrote: »

Possibly so but if you dont ask then you dont get

But if you ask through the media, you force people to take a certain position.

Have been involved in a few negotiations to sort out delicate problems where people have gone to the media, they got publicised, and any chance of sorting it out were blown as then everyone had to defend their decision etc. Once something gets aired, the chance of someone saying "I screwed up, I'll look at it again and change the decision" reduce significantly and they start toeing the line - "I had to decide it that way".

FluffyAngel

i am on twitter if anybody wants to tweet,i have tried to contact all suggested politicians and lo and behold they are on some other social media as they failed to answer back

i totally understand tds taking a break but surely they would have somebody monitor their accounts

when i came into hospital last saturday i overheard doctors and nurses talking ,they were saying "you can't release him to his car" somebody replied " i will release him,then i get tick off a box on my list"
that sank me

i never thought it would come to this...

Ask to see the hospital social worker, actuality demand to see the hospital social worker.

beauf

mariaalice wrote: »

Ask to see the hospital social worker, actuality demand to see the hospital social worker.

Be an idea to keep a record of everyone you meet and deals with you.

FluffyAngel

Gatling wrote: »

Imagine if this was all a wind up

are you for real? that is a very very cynical view of the world?
would a picture of me in my nappy resolve for you ?

Gatling

FluffyAngel wrote: »

are you for real? that is a very very cynical view of the world?
would a picture of me in my nappy resolve for you ?

Very real ,
Very cynical

Two Tone

Very sorry to read it, FluffyAngel. I really hope you get the support you need soon. Don't think of the people who are stifled in helping you as malicious - they are just ordinary people, like anyone; they are simply confined due to the system being such a mess because of years and years of screw-ups causing queues and limited resources. There is no single individual to blame. As Conor74 says, contacting the media might not lead anywhere - if you could be helped immediately you would be. I'd bet not one person here would be of the mindset "I couldn't be bothered helping someone in need of such support even if I had the resources to" - the same applies anywhere.

There are a lot of people who like to say that all run-of-the-mill public sector workers are monsters who could not be bothered helping people, simply for the hell of it - when they are just ordinary people and fundamentally the same as the people who are so critical of them. But I also agree with others that at this point, all avenues may be worth exhausting, so maybe try as many local media outlets as possible, to see whether this might put pressure on those higher up on the food chain to intervene. C103 is closer to West Cork than 96FM is. Paul Byrne of TV3 is on Twitter.

All the best.

Esel

Gatling wrote: »

Very real ,
Very cynical

Find another thread to be cynical in.

Winterlong

Jesus OP, that is a terrible story. That people like you can find yourselves in a situation like this makes my blood boil. I really hope it works out for you. But dont put your life at risk by sleeping in your car. Can your son or another relative or a friend not take you in for a few nights?

Stigura

OP; I don't suppose ye on Vodafone ....?

FluffyAngel

Winterlong wrote: »

Jesus OP, that is a terrible story. That people like you can find yourselves in a situation like this makes my blood boil. I really hope it works out for you. But dont put your life at risk by sleeping in your car. Can your son or another relative or a friend not take you in for a few nights?

im in hospital as sleeping out done me no good,i have one sister who offered a couch 60 miles away,if i left west cork i would have to claim from there

thank you for your kind words,but my story is repeated across ireland
The real story is waiting ten months for somthing that could be done in 5/8th of the time now

Wanderer78

if people really think ireland is now fine and in recovery, this story reveals all! to put in bluntly, ireland is really in trouble. the most vulnerable of our society have been exposed, in fact we all have been exposed. our society is deeply broken. i wish you the very best op. apologies but ive no advice.

FluffyAngel

Stigura wrote: »

OP; I don't suppose ye on Vodafone ....?

im not,I'm on twitter

Superhorse

Wibbs wrote: »

To be fair to this country S, it really doesn't. There are plenty of nations, including western industrialised nations where there would be near zero options beyond charity. Ireland isn't particularly bad this way at all. It would be one of the better ones IMH.

If anything there are so many safety nets that too many chancers take advantage of and have made welfare types suspicious and folks like F can fall through the cracks. All too often because they don't kick up enough of a fuss or have visible lobby groups to support them and it can most certainly be a case of the squeaky wheel gets the oil as far as welfare goes in Ireland.

I completely disagree we care more for the needy in African nations for example than we do of our own. Sending 600m per annum to Africa and cases like the OP's showing up here. As I said we don't look after our most in need and it's to the shame of us all.

And I completely 100% reject this "other nations are worse" argument. They may well be but it doesn't excuse our own failure here to look after those who need it most in even the slightest way.

Two Tone

Wibbs wrote: »

To be fair to this country S, it really doesn't. There are plenty of nations, including western industrialised nations where there would be near zero options beyond charity. Ireland isn't particularly bad this way at all. It would be one of the better ones IMH.

If anything there are so many safety nets that too many chancers take advantage of and have made welfare types suspicious and folks like F can fall through the cracks. All too often because they don't kick up enough of a fuss or have visible lobby groups to support them and it can most certainly be a case of the squeaky wheel gets the oil as far as welfare goes in Ireland.

I think this is spot-on. There are the social supports for deserving people in this country, which is great - unfortunately what's not so great is how this is exploited by the self entitled, not the deserving.

12Phase

Well, it is in recovery. The problem is that many of these systems have never been anything other than broken. We have a very dysfunctional housing system and it has been made worse by removing any new development of social housing which is plainly, and obviously needed.

From what I can see the two core political parties, FG and FF are more concerned about ensuring that property prices aren't deflated by opening up more housing as the rising prices is good for mini speculators who bought into the buy-to-let market. It's also good for the banks who are pulling away from having loans in negative equity on their accounts as prices soar.

It's a case of screw over anyone who didn't invest in bricks and mortar.

We still provide no solid alternative route to housing other than buying and that isn't necessarily an option some people want (e.g. mobile workers who might be here for 4 or 5 years and can't find quality rentals - that's actually put a few people I know off the IT sector here and sent them state side or to the continent) and then you've people who simply will not qualify for a mortgage due to age, fluctuating income, high risk illnesses (try getting a mortgage after a heart attack of example) etc and absolutely need to be able to lease long term in good quality accommodation, unfurnished, without some speculator breathing down there neck who can sell off at any time.

We need to be in a situation where there's a stock of housing owned by long term investors. Funds are getting a bad name as many of the ones that are most visible at the moment are vulture capitalist who came in to make a quick buck on distressed assets.

There are good alternative models out there that need to be running in parallel to mortgage + buy approach but nobody seems to give a toss in reality.

All I see is a lot of talk and hot air and no action. What action has been carried out has been real finger in the dam stuff. It hasn't addressed anything like the underlying problem that's been building for the last decade or more.

Stigura

Stigura wrote: »

OP; I don't suppose ye on Vodafone ....?

FluffyAngel wrote: »

im not,I'm on twitter

Okay. That messed with my head. But, I googled it. Seems, what ever ye doing on Twitter, ye phone has to have a 'Carrier Company'.

Who do ye pay for top ups? 3ie? Vodafone? Comet? ....?

FluffyAngel

this picture was taken yesterday in cuh..there you go cynical world

12Phase

That's pretty bad.

Edward Hopper

FluffyAngel wrote: »

this picture was taken yesterday in cuh..there you go cynical world

Seems a strange thing to take a picture of. There are leg bags available too if you want to be more discreet.

Superhorse

Wanderer78 wrote: »

if people really think ireland is now fine and in recovery, this story reveals all! to put in bluntly, ireland is really in trouble. the most vulnerable of our society have been exposed, in fact we all have been exposed. our society is deeply broken. i wish you the very best op. apologies but ive no advice.

The hacks and spin merchants want us all turning on each other, "It's the unemployed fault", "bloody single mums", "council house scroungers" etc.. we all know the types of arguments that crop up time and again and all the while the establishment get away with daylight robbery. Boom/Bust/Emigration the great release/ rinse and repeat the Irish way.