“I lived in my car for months in a car park, I could be back there by Christmas if I get no help,” said Dennis James, a 38-year-old father who’s frustrated by his housing crisis in London.
“My son always asks me, Dad why do you look so sad? It’s because I’m constantly stressed,” Dennis is further quoted by MyLondon Magazine.
According to the magazine, the past year has not been a cause for celebration for Dennis because “It is a year which has seen him become unexpectedly homeless, temporarily jobless and struggling to manage fatherhood to his seven and eight-year-old children.
“Dennis’s struggles with Croydon’s housing system after asking for help when his relationship broke down ultimately forced him to live in his car for months in the Whitgift car park. He now fears he will have to return to the car for Christmas if nothing changes as he’s been forced to take out an unaffordable loan to rent an expensive studio flat near East Croydon Station to avoid losing his new job.”
Dennis reportedly told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “All I want is just for them to find me a place that’s affordable. Right now I’m in debt because of the fact that I had to take out a loan and accept anywhere so I could keep my job.
“I would stay here for six months if it helped. Apparently, you need to stay somewhere for at least six months to be offered a more permanent place with the council, so all of this moving around doesn’t help me.”
At the start of the year, Dennis was living with his then-partner and two children at a property on Croydon’s famous Purley Way. He had been living there for eight years, during which time he says he spent a lot of his own money ‘doing it up’ and building a life in the area.
“However, when his relationship broke down, Dennis found that his name was not on the tenancy agreement, which removed any right he had to stay there. For the first time since moving to Croydon over 13 years ago, Dennis was now left on his own without accommodation or any support network to rely on. Support is important for Dennis as he is autistic and struggles with anxiety.
“The sudden threat of homelessness was compounded by the fact Dennis was made redundant from his well-paying job as a TV scheduler in April. Without housing and facing a drastic cut in income, Dennis was forced to engage with Croydon Council’s emergency accommodation team.
“While the council’s housing obligations do not include providing a council house to people who are homeless, they do include providing support to individuals in finding a new home. However, a seemingly endless cycle of correspondence with the council has left him having to double up his anti-anxiety medication and without a suitable place to stay. He told the LDRS: “I was so frustrated when I found out my name wasn’t on the tenancy. I spent all my savings doing that place up.
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“Even when I showed them I was there from 2018, nothing. I’ve been living in Croydon longer than that, but what was the point if they were never going to help me,” a frustrated Dennis is quoted by MyLondon.
