Why does no one ever answer the phone

All about caring
1

Hi again, so following mums offer for housing I am looking for information on how to get some grants and stuff to help mum move.

I have called four places with the council today and no one even bothers to answer the phone, no queue nothing. It’s like they don’t want to answer the phone.

Called social services at 9am this morning and they said they would get on it straight away. I’m still waiting at 11:30, it’s a joke.

I’ve called the housing allocation team twice, no response at all.

Called the facility directly nothing.

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It is called lazyness on their part. Since covid most councils have got their people still working from home. I would email them and demand to speak to someone.

3

May I suggest looking up the contact details for your Local Councillor (this info will be on the Council website and is likely to be something like “john.smith@somecouncil.gov.uk”). Email the person/team you are trying to contact and make the point that you have repeatedly attempted to contact them by phone with no result and you now NEED an urgent response. Copy in the Councillor and include a line in your email that you are doing so and ask for the councillor’s assistance in getting help. Keep it polite as I have known that approach to work as the ELECTED person should chase the ‘higher ups’ for you…

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4

Worth trying Chris;s suggestion. Local Councillors will vary but with elections coming up in May, may well be more pro active. I would suggest also keeping it as brief as possible too. Good luck.

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Thank you. I will try this. An hour later and still nothing whatsoever.

I have spoken to the housing association direct, and they are saying the council need to help with funds.

On the phone you get automated messages saying to go to the website, but the website is as vague as anything. Also because of my ocd, I need to really understand the process, because I really panic otherwise. I just need to speak to an actual person.

Mum needs help with moving costs, as well as help to pay her rent. I also need to understand how it will work since she is going to a housing association, but it’s like they don’t care.

6

Literally is laziness, everyone blamed COVID at the time.

7

Google “moving grant”. Funds are available via DWP. Lots more information.

8

Tried the local MP and got nowhere. I suspect the Labour Party think they have an easy ride now.

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Thank you. I have looked into this.

I now feel completely out of my depth, and considering I’m not of the best health at the moment I’m finding it so much harder. I told a social worker that I was diagnosed with OCD. The person I spoke to, I liked. She said to me that the situation we’re in is one she had been thinking about a lot. So there are a few good social workers.

I got the clarity I needed. I have better idea, she can go for a disrectionary payment, an advance loan for UC; and a community support grant.

She’s been offered one property, and she came first for a bungalow; however the bungalow is currently unknown because apparently they have to do extra checks due to it being sheltered housing. She hasn’t officially being offered yet. Bidding comes available at midnight again, hopefully there will be more properties.

I don’t want to seem like a whining ninny, right now I just do not feel right at all. Every hour of everyday is spent thinking about this. The only problem is it’s allowing me to think of a million and one things I need clarity on. Damn Brain.

Tonight I had to turn all the lights off apart from a lamp and my tv as I am just becoming hyper sensitive to light which is causing me to have tension headaches all the time.

Lightwise nothing has changed.

I’m also having difficultly sleeping technically as I am having all sorts of unusual dreams. They leave me feeling wierd throughout the day. They aren’t nightmares at all, just incredibly real feeling. I’m also waking up at exactly the same time everyday which is unusual. I’m

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Cool car, your post pinpoints exactly what is wrong. Your health isn’t great, so you are not sleeping well, and sleep deprivation makes absolutely everything ten times more difficult. I’m in a very similar situation right now, but at 72 I’m retired. So is my energy. In the past I’ve been in some terrible situations and these taught me how to “weather the storm”. First work out what MUST be done today. The rest will have to wait. Something to eat is vital, we have a term for this “Survival Food”. For us it’s Aldi deep pan pizzas and chips, bacon and egg, baked beans. I get indigestion when I’m stressed, so may need a Gaviscon tube. Also Activia yoghurt or Greek yoghurt. Sleep is another issue. Waiting for knee replacements one night I woke 13 times! I learned sometimes it was best to get up for a cuppa and toast so I could take painkillers. Then I would snuggle down in bed and tell myself my body needed rest, even if I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes having a boring TV story to listen to, helped drown out the rubbish swirling round in my head. I have everything crossed for you and mum. The sooner she is settled, the sooner you can step back. At last.

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I’m well rested, I find I just hate the feeling of needing to go to bed and then that awkwardness in a morning. The dreams put me on higher alert even if they aren’t nightmares, it’s almost as if I am trying to solve problems in my sleep as opposed to jumping on marshmallow clouds.

I hate coming home from work and seeing my bed it’s like a reminder. Before all this I loved my bed, because I have super soft bedding, and I have a million plushies. (I’m obsessed with plushies because they are very comforting). They don’t cause any sleep issues though. It just shows how I can go from that to hating it in a few days.

I have the tv on in the background but not really watching it, although I do have to put light tv shows on, nothing too action based- usually it’s the Simpsons or something. I tend to be on my phone just watching random videos and learning stuff. I usually do that anyway, I like watching travel videos and learning about stuff.

I would normally play video games, but not like call of duty or anything, I like games with puzzles and light adventure stuff or open world stuff, but I haven’t been able to do that due to the tension headaches.

I’ve got to admit my diet has not been great the past week, and I put it down to lethargy. Today I told myself to actually cook a meal, and I did. I was on a massive weight loss journey before and have been a while, but this has put me out of sync, although I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. I haven’t lost anything, but everything is just maintaining itself.

I did buy myself a packet of nice crisps today, but told myself it was a treat and not to worry about the calories for now.

Tonight walking home from shop, I just felt angry with a sense of numbness. Since mum got the section 21 I have been angry and worried, but today I just couldn’t help but ask why this was happening. Why is it okay just to uproot a whole family for no reason? A family that have essentially paid their mortgage and looked after the property for 15 years. I just don’t understand why that is okay.

Having dealt with it too for the past couple of weeks, I’ve learnt that the system is so complicated too. I tried to seek advice elsewhere about the council housing system and was eventually called a scrounger, and that we were relying on handouts from the Tax Payer and therefore didn’t deserve it. I am a tax payer. I was told I am not working hard enough and it’s my responsibility to provide for my mum and pay for her care and stop relying on the state. I know they are wrong, but it still hurt.

Again the logistics around understanding it all is just so hard too, it’s all the laws, understanding applications, dealing with bids and understanding the system, dealing with stupid forms and understanding who to contact. I don’t mean to be arrogant, but I have a masters degree in English, and yet I’m still baffled by these processes.

Then on top of that working a full time job, and then helping mum to pack up.

I’m angry because it’s essentially just putting impossible tasks into the hands of carers.

I feel sorry for you with your knee. I know so many people who have that issue, and it just affects them so much. I can’t imagine the pain.

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I had my knee replacements a long time ago. Now I think they are the only joints without arthritis! I’m dismayed at the comments made to you. Disgraceful.

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It was awful. I was told that my mum was a lazy oaf and that they should bring workhouses back just to show how disabled some people really are. They called her a bike which is really offensive because she was with my dad for 25 years before he died from contracting covid whilst receiving cancer treatment.

I’m just so fed up of fighting. Yet people do not believe the amount of pressure day in day out. Everyone says to me “no wonder why you are the way you are.” However, no one offers to help either. They let me carry on. Look at the damage I have done to myself.

It’s made worse by a mother who does not listen, and has a tendency to act like an absolute rogue sometimes, and has no alarm bells when it comes to keeping herself safe.

I’ve seen the properties that have come available tonight, next to none which she would want. There was one sheltered place, only I looked and it mentioned an allocations policy which now has me worried. I’m not going to get back to sleep now.

Basically it mentions behaviour and being around vulnerable people. Obviously mum was involved in the domestic abuse case a year ago which turned pretty nasty, although everything just stopped. There was never any evidence that mum was guilty of anything- it was just him. I don’t want to victim blame, but I don’t understand why the second you suspect something you should have to run to the police to check if they aren’t a wrong un. Surely innocent till proven guilty.

Then again If you are calling the police to see if they are bad, then there are enough warning signs there already.

She had a domestic abuse support worker, he didn’t which says enough. It also suggests that she was actively trying to improve her situation.

There was also the time where she let her friend stay who took over her home.

After she realised what happened she had alarms fitted on every door and window in the house. She also refuses to let anyone but carers, and official people in the property. She won’t have any friends over whatsoever.

The extra care team are reviewing her case due to this. However I am now scared that they will find this out, and then say she won’t be allowed a council house anymore.

I did speak to someone earlier about a place and they said they had to do extra checks to everyone, I didn’t really know what that meant but I do now. I hope this does not come up. It does mention that if behaviour is improved then it will be offered. I personally think her vulnerability’s have caused this, but I also think she’s a massive idiot. She is not a bad person, she just sees the good in people until it’s too late. I really do think she has a learning difficulty too as she struggles to understand social cues.

I’m also extremely angry at myself because I asked for support from these people, yet it feels like they’ve noted it down and used it as ammunition to go against us. Thanks council for adding to my worries, by doing the right thing I was doing the wrong thing. That is really going to help.

Thank you very much council. Luckily she has one offer in place away from the council.

I absolutely blame myself though, I have this overriding urge to be super responsible all the time and it really bloody kills me. No matter what happens I always think I have done wrong, I have to explain myself and take action to alleviate everything.

I wish I never went to the safeguarding team now, I will never go them again. I know they had a duty of care, but it just seems like they will do anything to fob anyone off.

I just hope everything will be okay.

14

Hold your horses. Teams are not lazy. Councils are deleting teams and staff left right and centre so teams are over worked. They should leave a voice mail message though.

Most charities who offered free white goods and grants are now defunct. The advice we give to clients is to look on Facebook or Gumtree or any other websites where they have cheap of free items.

The local welfare provision are really strict now. They ask for bank statements and proof of benefits to work out incoming and outgoing before they give you a food parcel here. They stopped grants months ago. My Council is on the verge of bankruptcy.

I think the DWP do an advance payment but the claimant has to pay it back.

Good luck and I hope your Mum gets something at least.

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I understand. It’s the bloody government making a million cut backs on local essential services.

It’s just a nightmare to find out information. There is so much less help. Then to ask for advice and then be told “my mum isn’t disabled and putting her into work will sort her out.” Or “it’s your responsibility, you have to work harder otherwise you’re a failure.’ And yes these are both comments I have had when trying to get advice.

It’s not like I’m asking for handouts, I’m looking for basic advice on how to sort this out. I’ve never been on benefits so everytime the system is just such a huge learning curve and an absolute nightmare.

I get annoyed when there’s endless bureaucracy, and not enough personalised care and attention.