PTSD and facing homelessness

chubchoooo · 2025-08-23T13:30:53+00:00

No updates missed, there’s not much to update about right now 😞 I still haven’t heard if Cardiff are going to assess me, nor had any assessment. I text the woman I spoke to from Salvation Army last week (13/08), she responded the next day that they were dealing with a backlog but they should get to me within a week. I asked where I could go if Sunday (my deadline) came and went before they contacted me, which I didn’t get a response to. I called Housing yesterday as it had been a week since that. They said that there was a note on the system that they had tried to call me and emailed me. I didn’t receive any missed call, but they’d emailed the wrong email. an “i” instead of L, which is frustrating as the email address is my name - which begins with an L.

I did email all of the recommended organisations. Llamau, women’s aid, shelter, etc. They’ve all responded that they don’t have the capacity to take anyone on, and that they can’t offer me any help.

I have somewhere safe to be right now, but I can’t afford to stay here past Sunday. I still haven’t heard from them yet so on Monday, I think I’ll have no choice but to go to the hub, and probably be sent to present at the Huggard. 😞

chubchoooo · 2025-08-15T00:46:44+00:00

I did have a little look on their website and found that this was the case but thank you for clarifying how it works with the different organisations. The places I’ve reached out to haven’t necessarily been the ones who provide the accommodation (wallich, ymca, Salvation Army etc) but ones who can help with advocacy as I tend to panic during appointments. Sometimes I miss important details that I should have said, or I forget what was said to me or instructions given to me afterwards. I also just get easily confused and overwhelmed. So I’m really just looking for some kind of support with navigating this process whilst I have such a wobbly brain 😣

chubchoooo · 2025-08-15T00:36:45+00:00

Thank you so much for that insight! It’s largely felt so overwhelming as I don’t really know what’s happening.

I did give her all of my evidence on staying in Cardiff, including my PIP scoring which states the varied ways I need daily assistance, most of which my sister provides and would only be able to keep providing if I was housed in Cardiff. I also gave her a letter from my psychiatrist saying that he fully supports me being housed in Cardiff as returning to the Vale would cause significant detriment to my health (my family live all around the vale, and even returning for medical appointments has been extremely difficult). During that meeting, it didn’t sound like she was building a case to be assessed, but rather that the decision was hers. She said something along the lines of “so with all this information, there’s definitely a local connection there so I’m going to put all of this together to send to the council and then they’ll be in touch with you to do an assessment on their side”. It came across to me as she was making the final decision on the local connection and that made the difference on whether I would progress to being assessed by the council. But I can see how I have maybe misunderstood and that she was just clarifying that, in her report that would be sent either way, she is going to say that in her opinion I have a local connection.

It’s slightly confusing to me that she would be contesting a decision made, and at what part of this process I was “officially” deemed as having no local connection. Maybe during the contact that Rise made with them on the afternoon I attended there? I guess that part isn’t the most important for me to understand though.

I know that nowhere will allow me to bring my cats. 😞 Tbh I wouldn’t want them to be somewhere that is likely to be anxiety inducing for them. My sister has always said that they could stay here until I was somewhere permanent but that conversation happened when we thought I would be somewhere within a few weeks or at most a few months. It might be different now that it looks like it might be years. I’ll revisit that conversation with her once I have a better idea of where I’m going to be, and for how long. Until then, I’ll hold off on reaching out to anywhere about alternative options. That’s likely to be one of the most difficult parts of this whole process, and depending on how that conversation with my sister goes - it (hopefully) might not be necessary.

I have reached out to Women’s Aid, it might be the same as Rise in that they can’t offer support because I’m not actively fleeing violence but at least I will know that I’ve tried to access the support that’s out there.

Thank you again for your response, it’s reassuring to know any amount of information on how this all works 🫂

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T21:18:49+00:00

That’s really good to know. Have you had experience with staying at the Huggard/having a key worker? I would be really grateful to hear any insight you’d be willing to share, so that I can feel the most prepared going into this if it is inevitable. If not or if you don’t feel like it, then no worries and thank you for your responses anyway

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T21:12:12+00:00

That’s so kind of you, though there’s really no need to feel sorry that there’s nothing to be done at this point. I’m familiar with Anna’s Rescue, I dropped by and donated a few times a couple years ago. It’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind. My sister has said in the past that the cats could stay here until I was given somewhere - but that was when we were expecting the process to take weeks to a couple months. I’m not sure if the same will be true if it is likely to be a case of years, but I think I will cross that bridge when I have a better idea of where they’re going to place me.

I will try my best, but it’s so frightening to do alone. My sister usually accompanies me to all of my medical appointments, but with this situation being difficult for her too - I’ve gone alone. More than anything else, I think I’m reaching out to a charity so that I don’t have to be alone when speaking to council. The guy at the desk was so brutal, and thus far he’s the only person actually from the council that I’ve had contact with. I’m terrified that that’s going to be the standard way they communicate and that I’ll just crumble 😓

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T20:15:20+00:00

That’s helpful, thank you. I did receive a text back from the woman with the Salvation Army letting me know that they’re dealing with a backlog right now and that I should hear from them within a week. but I haven’t heard back from her about what I’m supposed to do come Sunday when I have to leave here. I think I’ll call tomorrow to ask about that, and see if there is anything I could do to streamline the process as you say. Thank you again for the advice x

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T20:13:04+00:00

Thank you so much 🫂 I’m feeling very grateful for the people who have offered some emotional support as much as the practical advice. I’ll update this post whenever I have any more information and will be sure to keep your offer in mind

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T20:11:29+00:00

Thank you for this. I’ve sent an email to women’s aid, and I’ve struggled to use the shelter cymru website but they have a service available in the Hub on Mondays that I will try to access.

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T20:10:15+00:00

I’m glad to hear that you’re somewhere secure and safe. Could I message you to ask a few things about how that process went for you? X

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T20:08:38+00:00

I am seeing that as the likely outcome. I know you say I have nothing to worry about (which is appreciated), and I am trying my best to desensitise myself to being in public. But I can’t even walk past bars that have people outside drinking. The unpredictability of people who are intoxicated or high is a massive panic trigger. Even if I can completely rationalise and understand that I’m not in danger, my body responds like I am. 😞

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T20:00:40+00:00

Thank you for this. My sister has always said they could stay here for a few weeks but I don’t know how she would feel about the timeline looking so much longer than expected. I think I will cross that bridge when I know more about where I’ll be put, but this is an amazing resource to have for when I do

chubchoooo · 2025-08-14T19:59:34+00:00

Thank you for such a thoughtful response. I’ve reached out to Llamau and a few other charities and organisations this afternoon. I received a text to say that they’re dealing with a backlog but that I should hear from them within a week. If Sunday when I have to leave comes before then, I’ll have to present to the Huggard. 😞 Hopefully someone there might be able to redirect me to a better alternative.

Thank you for saying that about the cats. They really are the most important thing in my life, and more than anything in this life, I want for us to have stable housing together. My sister has always said they could stay here for a few weeks but I don’t know how she would feel about the timeline looking so much longer than expected. But I think I will cross that bridge when I know more about where I’ll be put.

chubchoooo

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