Homelessness looming need advice

RosieDugs

Hiya, I'm a 21 year old nursing student (well I was). In January I became very physically ill and unfortunately had to put my studying on hold which is so upsetting to me because I genuinely love what I do. I am currently in reciept of disability allowance (which I am not proud of and was very reluctant to apply for, I hate being a sponger) my problem is my 3 yr long relationship (more of a relationsh*t) has now come to an end and my ex has moved home to London and I am jobless, friendless, family-less (very long story) with (next to) no money (does 50€ count?) car-less (was my exes car which he took on the boat back home) and I am living in a house with a rent of 700€ which I can't pay (and still haven't paid last months) 25kilometers from the nearest large town in the countryside with absolutely no transport whatsoever. Not to mention I am running out of the food supply (but the SVDP kindly helped me out with food vouchers last month) again something I'm not proud of, I never thought I'd find myself in a situation like this. My major issue here is that although I do get 188€ (no hold on it's been raised by a fiver so it's 193€) weekly In disability It's nowhere near enough for me to pay my rent (which I'm behind on and won't be paying this month) I won't have enough for a new deposit for a house and rent in advance buy food buy a car tax insure it etc.. And I'm not physically capable just with the state my health is in currently to be walking 25kilometers to get to anywhere never mind what I'd do even if I did get there with no money. I don't have anyone I can ask for help (truly I no longer know anybody) absolutely no one. Does anyone have any advice for this current predicament ? Ah life sucks sometimes, thank you so much if you've read this far !! Rosie

Airyfairy12

Hi Rosie, rent in this country is disgraceful, im furious with the previous generations and the current government for allowing this to happen and leaving an economic sh!t storm for the younger generations to clean up. Its impossible to deal with especially for those who dont have supports from family. You shouldnt feel bad for taking social welfare, youre entitled to a hand up, like everybody is.

Id advise you to go to a homeless shelter or women's refuge for the time being, they'll be able to support you and give you advice and information. You cant continue living in the countryside, on top of ridiculous rents this joke of a country doesnt provide public transport for rural areas, thats not going to change so your only open is to either live somewhere close to a bus root or live in a town or village. If youre paying 700 a month I assume youre not sharing. Working people in graduate jobs earning full time wages cant afford to live alone so you'll have to share.

First things first, get to a homeless aid or womens shelter. You can also make an appointment in your intreo office to ask for a caseworker, she'll advise you, give you information and help you find accommodation, work and she'll help you with applications for rent allowance ect.

RosieDugs

Boaty wrote: »

It sounds like a very tough situation to be in. I know you said that you are family less, is this because of a fight? If so I suggest making them aware of your situation if you haven't done so already. People put things behind them very quickly when someone they know/love is in need for help.
It sounds like you are very reluctant to seek help but you may as well get the assistance from the council etc and seek a place in a town.
Have you told the landlord about your situation?

Boaty, thank you for your reply! Yes, the family situation really is from a long standing feud with my father and his family Id never met my (now deceased) grandparents & I've never met my aunts uncles cousins on my fathers side and more recently (ish) my mother arguing with every member of her family whom she hasn't spoken to (neither have I) since 2011. Although I was very close to my aunts my whole childhood on my mothers side of the family, i just haven't spoken to them in so long that it'd be like asking a stranger for help. Although it probably will be my only option.

And yes I have told the landlord about the situation, He didn't say much other than mumble that this isn't acceptable (which is completely understandable on his part.) I think he's let me away with it this long because we had never ever missed a rent payment or been a day late with it in 2 and a half years.

And yeah it looks like I'll be making my way walking along the country roads to the council office telling my sob story like some kind of chav haha! Again thanks for your reply!

RosieDugs

Thank you airy fairy, for your reply!

The rent is phenomenal in this country alright! And the standard of a lot of the accommodation for the amount of money were all paying is absolutely ridiculous. But hi-ho what can we do.

Yea it's looking like I'll have to contact a refuge/ the council etc.. Although I'm not even sure how I'll walk the 25km into the nearest town as my mobility & stamina have been affected due to my illness but oh well it has to be done ! I suppose that's true, there's little to no rural transport whatsoever.


Again thank you so much for your advice.

Airyfairy12

RosieDugs wrote: »

Thank you airy fairy, for your reply!

The rent is phenomenal in this country alright! And the standard of a lot of the accommodation for the amount of money were all paying is absolutely ridiculous. But hi-ho what can we do.

Yea it's looking like I'll have to contact a refuge/ the council etc.. Although I'm not even sure how I'll walk the 25km into the nearest town as my mobility & stamina have been affected due to my illness but oh well it has to be done ! I suppose that's true, there's little to no rural transport whatsoever.


Again thank you so much for your advice.

Have you any neighbours that you could ask for a lift? I live rurally with no transport myself so I understand how frustrating and isolating that is. How much would a taxi cost you? you'll need to go into town to collect your benefits anyway, maybe use your 50 for taxi and while in town collecting your money you could go to the shelters for advice? x

power pants

Apply for hap, rent allowance

m'lady

Hi Rosie,
What an awful situation to be in. I don't have much more advice to add to what has already been suggested. Could you maybe look into seeing if you could get someone in to share the house with you and in addition to that apply for rent allowance? I'd also be contacting the Vincent De Paul again to see if they can help you out further.

Can I also suggest to stop being so down on yourself, calling yourself a 'sponger' and being like a 'chav', it's not healthy to be speaking about yourself in such horrible terms, and not only that but there are plenty of people that are possibly in similar situations reading this, (also I know you've your nursing studies on hold but you wouldn't call a person that if they were a patient?) you are indirectly calling them the same names, you have fallen on hard times, and need support and help.

I really hope you work things out. x

pilly

Hi Rosie, have you reached out to neighbours at all? You'd be surprised how supportive people can be in rural places if you ask.

I don't mean tell them all your business but you could explain that you're currently without a car and could they give you a shout when they're going to town.

I would agree with others about going to homeless organisations and shelters. Also email and call some of them, they may send people out to see you who can also help.

Best of luck, things will get better. You're very young and will get through this rough patch.

Before you leave your home or make any big decisions, get in touch with a Citizens Advice Bureau and find out if you're entitled to any payment to cover emergency circumstances. You may qualify for rent allowance now and an a payment to keep you going in the interim.

Get in touch so you know what to expect - before you make yourself homeless and move out.

Benefits exist to help out genuine cases of need, like yours. There is no need to defend getting what you're entitled to and I hope you don't feel as though everyone begrudges you your income. Few people could complain about you getting disability so don't put yourself down for that reason.

Please do get advice before making any major move. Get in touch with your local Welfare office and explain how desperate your situation is, and explain to your landlord that you're trying to sort things out, to keep them in the loop as they might be relying on the rental income themselves.

Good luck and I hope it all works out.

cbyrd

Agree with this. Sometimes pride does come before a fall. We all need help at times in our lives and by not accepting help you will leave yourself worse off. Go to your local council and get the forms for local housing need. Once you're accepted on the housing list you can apply for hap. Make an appointment to see your local community welfare officer. They might be able to help you with an exceptional needs payment.

Think of it like this, the country needs nurses, if you can't finish your course You won't be able to earn a wage and pay your tax. This is why we pay prsi.
Social insurance. It's the just in case life ever gets fcuked up tax.
Best of luck,

Ursus Horribilis

Would a house share in a town be an option? You'd be within walking distance of shops, services etc. and bills would be smaller.

njs030

Are you renting a house? €700 a month is a lot for one person and will be way over any RA threshold so first things first you need to find somewhere smaller and apply for rent allowance.

If you haven't paid your rent your landlord is within his rights to give you notice, perhaps give threshold a call to find out what the notice periods that he has to give are, do be aware non payment of rent isn't always classed as being made homeless so the council may not sort it out for you though they will assess your need.

Have you been giving your landlord any money? Hopefully you've been giving him something towards the rent each week and he might give you some time to find something.

adomackno101

mod snip - not allowed per our charter, can result in immediate forum ban

RosieDugs

adomackno101 wrote: »

mod snip - not allowed per our charter, can result in immediate forum ban

What is it I've done wrong ??

infogiver

RosieDugs wrote: »

What is it I've done wrong ??

Rosie you'll have to get yourself on the housing list in your local authority first. That should be no problem.
Then look for accommodation in the town nearest you as cheap as possible. You can then apply to the local authority for HAP which is financial help with the rent.
You would be entitled to the living alone allowance which is an extra €9, electricity allowance and free tv license and possibly fuel allowance and you have your free travel so it's not too bad, but you can't stay in the house your in so expensive you definitely can't afford it, (the landlord will very quickly look to evict you and that will make it harder for you to find somewhere else) and it's too far away from everything else anyway.
Forget about a car right now you can't afford to run a car

Derrigra

You need to reach out to your family - they are bound to help you, you need to make the first step! Don't do this on your own