No Words For These Housing Updates…None At All

Hi Nathan,

I went to Launchpad yesterday, and we phoned PIP which took 1 hour on hold. Guess what? They sent a response letter end of August just days after my third and final phone call to check on the status. And yet again…I didn’t receive it. That’s 3 out of 4 letters from PIP this year that I haven’t received, despite receiving all other letters and parcels for things like car insurance, NHS, AA insurance, banking, and me checking the post every single day.

Now Launchpad took me through the options for the next step. I could:

1) Get my usual benefits advisor with Stepping Forward to submit the appeal to go to a tribunal (which would take up to a year to reach)
2) Get Launchpad to submit the appeal
3) Begin the application from scratch once I move in with Launchpad (that was their wording, so it all seems very likely they’ll be accepting me)

They were recommending the third option because frankly Launchpad seem to have a much more positive and up to date knowledge of PIP compared to my advisor (who was always very pessimistic and was convinced they wouldn’t factor in any of my mental health diagnoses). However Launchpad know mental health has been included in PIP since 2016 and are experienced with fighting cases on that. Basically if I go with Launchpad it actually seems likely I could win. If I go to a tribunal we can’t include this new info (esp. my OCD diagnosis which was made since my application). But a new application could be completed within a few months.

At the moment none of this urgent anyway, because my priority now is avoiding homelessness altogether.

Launchpad told me they had a big setback this week because one of their blocks of flats had a fire which took out EIGHT of their flats…they’ve managed to rehouse 5 of them and 3 are still in B&Bs. So that has really pushed back the waiting list…if it wasn’t for that they were optimistic to discuss an option with me on Monday apparently.

Now I am wondering if Launchpad could actually help me apply to the court for extra time in this property, considering that the Landlord is now only reclaiming possession of my room at this point since the other rooms already have new tenants. I will ask them today, we may as well try.

How is it possible that between the Salvation Army Tenancy Support Service, the council, and Launchpad homelessness prevention service, that I could still end up technically homeless and the victim of an abusive and delusional landlord? And it all comes back to the council not doing their job for 3 months then going completely silent in the final month…seriously, they should be sued because a simple email would’ve avoided all of this.

And amidst it all I have to ensure the health of 28 plants and two cactus armies…

🌪