Does anyone know....?

[Sleepless123]

Does anyone know if having a supporting letter written by the mental team to say you would benefit from accomodation in a different area [being closer to family] due to physical/mental health problems actually helps in the process when applying to a council for other housing?

i just wondered.im still scared and unsure about moving closer to my family [which is not in the council area im currently in]in some ways and not sure if it would work out.It would be a big step for me if it happened but thats a long story and not for this post.

i applied without a supporting letter at first and got some priority on their housing register but understandably not a lot.

My CPN has now given me a letter which ive sent to them and we have asked them to review the situation.

But does anyone know if the letter will actually make any difference?

PS im sorry if this is in the wrong place.i didnt know where to put it between here and General Support but i thought id put it here for now.....

Thanks.

[88shelz]

it should give you more priority if its to help your health

[Seraphsigh]

I just gave you a hug because I'm from the States and have no idea. However, I'm sending you all these American vibes that will hopefully lead you in the right direction.

[Sleepless123]

Thanks very much both of you and it was so kind of you to think of me.

Yes it was for my health.

[Busby]

i think it might make a difference. I moved from one borough to the next, and had my team write supporting evidence to say that I needed to be near my family. The council paid attention to this letter and I now live in the same bourough as my family.

Hope that helps xx

[Busby]

ps i think having the supporting evidence for health reasons gives you more "points" or something which you need to get into accomodation.

[recoveringrobin]

in my experience having as much evidence is a good thing when trying to do housing. having your mental health team write a letter is a great way to do that. also to have any copies of hospital/inpatient discharge summaries is another good thing to have. i'm not sure about your situation in detail, but from what i gathered i think you should have a letter to be safe. hope it helped:) keep your chin up

[Pomegranate]

I am currently in the process of applying for council housing and whilst still fairly clueless about the whole thing and not really understanding it I have been told by two different housing worker council people (not sure of their proper title :P ) that a letter from a Dr or psych about why I had had to move and had moved areas would help prioritise me.

[Sleepless123]

Hi thanks for all the responses.Very kind and useful.

i thought i might do an update on this.If people dont mind.

Earlier this week after 2 months of waiting since i sent them my request for a review and the supporting letter from my CPN and a copy of my care plan i got a reply from the council.

Unfortunately their panel have decided by majority decision to refuse the appeal. They feel i have already been awarded adequate priority on their housing register and that they had already fairly considered my needs to move for medical reasons and family support.

After so long waiting this left me a bit gutted even though i cant be sure things would work out with my family even if i did move back closer obviously.

im just so tired and cant cope with having to fight so much for everything.

i do accept that the council probably have done what they can but i dont think they realise how dire my situation is and i have tried to tell them broadly.But i dont want to be blunt about how very bad things really are, going into the very fine details etc.

i guess i started panicking cos i dont know i could maintain my health better nearer my family but it really is not good right now and generally for most council properties in the area i want to live there is usually still at least 60 or 70 people each week ahead of me on the list [i can tell from logging into their website each week what properties are available and then i can express in an interest in upto three but you get to see how many people are ahead of you].

And even in the areas im not interested in [im disabled and need public transport to be accessible to get to my parents from any property] there is still usually a good 30 ahead of me at least and i have been on the list nearly 5 months already!And i dont really appear to be moving upwards each week either.

So anyway today i viewed a property with a private landlord near my parents and it would be pretty much an ideal property for me.And i have quite specific property needs due to my disability.

But i havent secured work in the area yet and even in my current area only work part time.

The chap from the letting agent i saw at the viewing didnt seem to think it would be a problem them accepting housing benefit at first as i currrently work in my current area [very far from my parents so i couldnt continue the job if i move].

And i explained that i could still pay a deposit, admin fees for the letting agent and the first months rent in advance out of my own pocket before setting up housing benefit to follow on if i need to.As i work at the moment i could get that together at a push for the sake of being closer to my parents. My council who i am a current tenant of also say they would reference me as does my current employer so i could give that too.

i get part housing benefit here currently but also pay part of my rent as i manage to work part time.But obviously as i would have no job there it would have to be full housing benefit after me giving the first months rent if i dont find anything [and even if i do i dont know if i could cope with working full time due to health so i may need housing benefit to top it up again].

But as i say at the viewing this morning the chap from the letting agents seemed fine and not really bothered but when i delivered my form with the payment for referencing to their office this afternoon i saw a lady who was more concerned and said kind of oh i dont know and we will have to speak to the landlord first etc.

And my parents would have to guarantor me even then which we already knew and they are willing to do but now im panicking and scared they wont let me be a tenant [even though im anxious about whether things with my family would work out anyway which i think is natural] and we just dont know cos they have to speak to him which ive been trying to get them to do all week anyway cos i knew they would have to but now that womans got me in a panic cos her reaction was so different to the man i saw this morning and they work the same office.He had just reassured me so much and now shes panicked me again...so much!

And im just finding it really hard at the moment.Cos i just dont know where im gonna end up either housing wise or in life.It feels like everythings in the balance and just been taken out of my control more and more but then at the same time i dont really know what i want to do or whats best for me either.

i just havent a clue where to turn and struggling with the uncertainty!

Sorry for the useless ramble.

i just dont know which way to turn or what to think or do anymore.