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Home starts with YOU
Stronger together
It's hard to believe Belinda and five-year-old Lawrence were ever placed in the shared accommodation where Belinda fell. Lawrence has severe complex needs and experiences epileptic seizures. He is unable to walk and needs a hoist to sit and bathe.
When they needed to leave the house, Belinda's only option was to make sure Lawrence was safe and secure in a chair, then carry his wheelchair down the stairs and walk back up the stairs to carry Lawrence down. 'He is tall for his age and can't hold himself well, so I had to hold him very tightly,' Belinda says.
Things came to a head when Belinda fell down the stairs carrying the wheelchair. She crawled back upstairs and couldn't leave their room for a week while her injured leg recovered. At that point, social services put Belinda in touch with us and she received support from Karen, a housing rights worker.
Belinda said:
'Karen called me personally to discuss what was going on. I felt like I had somebody to listen to me for the first time.'
Together they wrote an email to the local council, explaining how the accommodation was unsafe and could even be fatal if Belinda fell or there was a fire. The room was also too small to fit in the specialist equipment Lawrence needs. 'Later, Karen sent another email saying she was going to bring in a solicitor. Right after that I got a call from the housing officer. It took them just a week to relocate us.'
Belinda and Lawrence should never have been in that situation. But your support helped them fight for the safe, suitable home they need. Today, they're fully settled in a two-bedroom, ground floor flat, much closer to Lawrence's school. 'Mentally and physically we are now very good,' Belinda smiles. 'We feel very, very happy.'
Thank you for defending housing rights and fighting for home with Shelter Scotland.