Disabled Brighton Mother Overlooked For Emergency Housing Move

A disabled young mother fears that she is stuck in emergency housing months after she hoped to have been moved on to a more suitable longer-term property.

Zoe McBride, 28, who suffers from chronic back problems and has a 10-month-old baby, said that families had come and gone from the emergency housing where she had lived since last October.

Ms McBride, who is also autistic, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), has been offered different emergency housing which is unsuitable for her needs.

She said:

“I have now watched eight families move on from the building I’m at now into two-bedroom flats long-term temporary housing.

“Why have they kept us stuck in here? I was offered another emergency (placement) and it was even smaller and with worse facilities than where I live now.”

As a disabled person, Ms McBride said that she was frustrated not to be in a higher priority group for moving into more suitable temporary housing.

An email from a council housing manager in March said that there had been an “oversight” when it came to moving her on to second-stage temporary housing.

It should have happened in December, the email said, and her claim would be back-dated.

She was offered another emergency flat in a block which she said was “full of single men”. This caused her further anxiety because she has previously fled from domestic abuse.

Ms McBride said:

“Physical mobility issues mean I would not be able to carry laundry to and from the communal laundry room.

“I would not be able to wash my baby in the shower because I can’t bend down.”

After contacting the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she is hopeful that the council has found her a suitable home.

Labour councillor Gill Williams, the council’s cabinet member for housing and new homes, said:

“As a local authority, we do move people from emergency accommodation to temporary accommodation when it becomes available.

“And while we do not comment on individual cases, we can reassure the resident that the temporary accommodation offered here is of a high standard and in safe environment.

“It is within a council-owned and run block and also benefits from on-site welfare support and out-of-hours security.

“We have accommodated many families with young children in this location and are, of course, always happy to discuss additional support we can provide to help make the accommodation as welcoming and suitable as possible.

“We appreciate how distressing it can be for families who are facing homelessness and being in emergency or temporary accommodation is not ideal.

“We always work hard to find more permanent homes as quickly as possible. However, we are in the midst of a housing crisis like no other.

“And there is a desperate shortage of family homes which can make it more difficult to help people as quickly as we would like.”