A WEST Belfast family have appealed to the Housing Executive to end their "housing hell" after complaining of being crammed together in a small terraced house.
The mother, who we are not naming to protect her four children who are all autistic with complex additional needs, are currently living in her parents' house in Clandara Street, off the Falls Road. As well as the complex needs of the children, her parents suffer from ill-health, with seven people living in the small property.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, the grandmother explained: "My daughter's children are aged six, nine, ten and 11. They are all autistic with severe and complex additional needs. "As grandparents, we are also in poor health. My husband suffered a stroke a number of years ago.
"We are all living here but there is just not enough space. My daughter is not in good health herself. Both myself and her father are not well either.
"The house is not made for us all. There is no space and no garden. How is it acceptable in this day in age that a mother of four autistic children have to live with two ill-health pensioners? It is not right.
"Narrow stairs are a danger to the children as their muscle tone in their legs is bad. My daughter and her children deserve their own space. The children do not sleep well at night. If one is up, the whole house is up. The children are suffering. Their levels of anxiety are really bad .
"My daughter needs housed as soon as possible for everyone’s sake. It would be good if the Housing Executive could even give us an indication of when she will be sorted. It would give her some sort of hope to work towards.
"All she has been offered is a hotel room in Omagh, which is totally unreasonable given the children attend local schools in West Belfast. We have gone to every political party for help. We have over 20 support letters. All we get told is that she has good points. It is just not good enough. My grandchildren deserve a suitable safe home to live in."
Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan has been working with the family to try and find them suitable accommodation.
“It’s clear the current conditions this mother is living in are not satisfactory or sustainable," he said. “At present she is living in a three-bed house with seven occupants, all of whom have complex health issues.
“She has been sofa-surfing for some time now and is in desperate need of a safer environment to live as a matter of urgency. This is reflective of a wider problem across the north which is a direct result of savage British government cuts and underfunding which have plagued our public services and communities for over a decade.
“I’ll continue to support her and press the Housing Executive in the time ahead to find her and her family an appropriate home.”
A Housing Executive spokesperson said: “A high level of housing points has been applied in this case, however the applicants’ areas of choice are areas of high housing demand and low housing turnover. We will continue to work with them to find a suitable housing solution.”
