IN RESPONSE to all the comments made regarding the Essex Chronicle article on my situation, I must take the opportunity first to thank all those who have shown compassion and understanding for myself and my son Alfie.
Your words of kindness and support have been very encouraging and I assure you I will not give up this battle to get housed and as a mother finally provide a loving home where Alfie can grow up safely, as he so rightly deserves.
Second, I'd like to say to those who posted negative feedback online you too have encouraged me to keep fighting as one day you may well need to rely on social housing.
If and when you do fall into this situation you will sit back and remember me, the woman that got off her backside and fought against all the odds and came out the other side.
"Typical and pathetic"Third, the council's response on the article was typical and pathetic.
Not once has any member of staff actually asked about my circumstances, they have only demanded evidence which has been provided.
They claim everyone is encouraged to pursue accommodation through the private sector, as well as socially rented accommodation, due to the severe shortage of available social housing.
Had any member of staff dealing with my case actually read the evidence, they would see why I have no option but to rely on social housing.
My landlord wanted to sell the flat I was living in, and instead of making the process easy, the council instructed my landlord to get an eviction order.
He helped me and Alfie by letting us stay for an extra six months, as Alfie needed to get settled in a stable home.
I had to leave my job to have Alfie, which is hard because I have always worked, and now I am on a waiting list for a home indefinitely.
"Frustrated"The council department has even frozen my account online while they wait for a decision as to whether I will be moved up to the high priority band due to my son's ill health.
I am frustrated that they have housed a single, alcoholic man in a one-bedroom flat below a friend of mine instead of one of the 4,000 other homeless people in the borough of Chelmsford who are desperately in need of settled accommodation.
Furthermore, I know another single man housed in a one-bed flat, has conveniently got his girlfriend pregnant and mouthed off that she is living in a family based unit as apparently "homeless" she'll get given £1,000 and a two-bedroom property when baby is born, making that a total of two separate properties and three bedrooms between the pair.
In my opinion she should move in with the boyfriend and apply for a transfer at a later date to free up another property for those more in need.
The said young man has also stated that he won't allow her to move in as if they split up she will gain the property.
"No effort"Since Monday, April 8, the council has made no effort to contact me regarding any housing. It constantly states that there is a severe shortage of properties yet I have bid on 30 properties since August 31, 2012 – two just last week.
Where is Alfie's father in all this you ask?
He was kept out of the paper to avoid arguments between us.
I can state that he is doing his bit. We have a family-based arrangement between ourselves where if I need it, he will provide more milk, nappies, wipes, food and clothes, once I have asked.
Alfie's father visits every week and every other weekend with his parents.
Myself and Alfie's father are not an item but we remain amicable for the sake of our son.
Alfie's father will always remain in his life, I wouldn't stop them seeing each other.
Alfie enjoys time with his dad and his father is backing me 100 per cent.
Because there are the two of us, I am unable to bid on one-bedroom flats on the Chelmsford council housing website, and therefore I can only bid for two bedrooms on the home option page.
I would happily settle for a one-bedroom place if it meant being able to cook for myself and my son, to be able to give him a bath in a bath tub instead of a plastic box, and to do our washing and normal household chores instead of relying on other people to do these simple things.
I would love to be able to go back to work and pursue my career, but as it stands I am unable to do so.
When my circumstances change and I have my own place I will find myself a job and cease relying on the Government and other people.
Since being here Alfie has been ill with a cough and cold. Medicating him with Nurofen for children and baby cough mixture had not worked.
Less fortunateHaving taken him to see our GP we were informed that Alfie has mild asthma, I strongly believe it's the result of pollution from the heavy traffic surrounding the Miami Hotel where we are staying, and our room backing onto a petrol station, where fumes are always in evidence. These factors have contributed to Alfie's ill health.
Alfie has a heart monitor which I put under his bed to monitor his breathing but I am unable to use it on my single bed because the sensor pad under his mattress will not detect anything through anything more than 10cm thick, and my mattress is more than 10cm thick.
I do not want to risk his health, therefore I stay awake.
I sincerely hope the people who have criticised me never end up in a situation like mine. If they do it may teach them to have a little respect and compassion for those less fortunate, but willing to stand up for themselves.
Maybe then they would realise just how hard it is raising a child in these conditions with a Government that is unwilling to provide its own people with more suitable accommodation.
