I can rest later...

An email from Allocations this morning! A sign that I mustn't relax too much perhaps?

Dear Ms de Nim

It suddenly occurred to me that I had not replied to your email below and offer my apologies for this oversight.

Whilst we will try and ensure that you remain in Camden we cannot guarantee that you will remain in the Kentish Town area. In terms of the accommodation that [your support worker] spoke to you about, it would have been useful for you to have gone to see the property in Kilburn before entirely ruling it out. Unfortunately, it is no longer available. I can also assure you that if there was temporary accommodation near your son’s school we would have offered it to you by now, knowing that owner of [Papier Mache Towers] does not want to extend the lease with Pathmeads.

There may be properties, but what you need to understand is that they are not all owned by Camden – some are owned by housing associations and some owned privately. We can only offer what we have available to us.

I do hope that the counselling sessions, although they may have awakened dark periods of your earlier life, may help you work towards a positive future for you and your son.

Regards

Allocations

My response - I should really think abit longer about the things I write but I think Stiggers takes over and shoots what I say without consulting my head:

Dear [Allocations],

Thanks for your reply. Last Thursday morning I sent [Support Worker] a text saying I should have agreed to view the Kilburn property. Could I still? I told him I was afraid, and I was. I hate to turn a property down, not that I've been given many opportunities these last six years.

Even if this was the most beautiful property in the world, my son's school wouldn't be local. Which of his friends would come and visit him? I went to see [Housing Councillor] who said I had to start thinking of secondary school. How can I? It was a temporary flat, we'd be thinking of moving out as soon as we moved in to avert another future eviction.

Kentish Town, Haverstock, South End Green, Tufnell Park, Dartmouth Park, Gospel Oak, I don't only look in Kentish Town.

A few weeks ago [Support Worker] told me that Camden couldn't legally look for temporary accommodation for me until the bailiff's order arrived. Being offered Kilburn came as a shock. If what you say is true, why weren't properties being offered to us as early as last September when we got the repossession order, or Christmas when we got the possession order? I raised with [Housing Councillor] the total injustice that a lone parent evicted from the private sector is given many extra points, and me none because my son and I are statutorily homeless. I could have been bidding with a better chance of getting a secure tenancy for a long time now.

My doctor didn't offer further counselling. She said I'd "been pushed from pillar to post" and couldn't see any value in it for me any more, as I sobbed in front of her.

I've put my pain into a postcard. There shouldn't be any empty properties. I know Camden has tried to get the money back and has failed. It might be madness going after it myself but people display their madness in different ways.

Thank you for offering Kilburn. I am truly sorry I didn't like what the location meant for my child. Thank you for continuing to ensure we remain in Camden, I will keep hoping for a positive resolution for me and my son.

Kind regards

Sue de Nim