After we sent this email to Greenwich Council Housing, the lady we are supporting was contacted the next day and was offered a long term let. The day after that she picked up her keys to a three bedroom townhouse with small garden in the Greenwich borough. She had been in this dangerous housing situation for 60.days.
Dear _______ ________
My name is Emma Dalmayne, I am writing to you from Autistic Inclusive Meets, an Autistic led organisation based in Woolwich.
We are currently supporting ______ and her three sons _____ DOB _____ DOB and _____ DOB who are currently in temporary housing at ____ Groveherst Road, Dartford DA1 5JD.
Her youngest son ______ has extreme sensory needs and requires 1.1 support 24 hours a day to keep him safe.
______ also has no spoken word language, and ______is currently in the process of obtaining an Augmented Alternative Communication application to install on his iPad to aid his communication.
______ has no concept of danger, he will run out into traffic in busy roads if he is startled by loud sounds due to sensory overwhelm. He uses ear defenders and will also sink to the floor, unable to move when in shutdown.
______ is in danger of losing his life in the property the family are currently in. He is very strong for his age and has lifted the radiators off the walls. He loves to climb, and the windows swing wide open. He is at risk of falling which could be fatal.
Please see this tragic case here of an Autistic child who fell from a window in the council accomodation he was in, his mother had begged the council to put locks on the windows:
The family are currently being offered a three bedroom property. I highly recommend that they be given a four bedroom, as ______ desperately needs his own room with his sensory equipment; so he can calm and self regulate in his own space without interruptions or distracting noise.
______ does not sleep through the night he gets up frequently with meltdowns, he has self injurious behaviour and attacks _____ and his siblings. He is also incontinent and is still in nappies so needs changes throughout the night, for this he needs privacy.
______ ideally needs a garden so he can have a trampoline and sensory circuit to burn off some energy and ground himself.
We ask that you move _____ and her boys out of the accomodation they are currently in urgently, and house them back in the Greenwich Borough.
They are currently away from their support networks, including the boys schools, the boys father and ______ mum, their GP and _____ Paediatricians where he's currently awaiting a second round of music therapy.
Its a long journey daily to make and the children are finding it gruelling, _____ in particular finds it distressing.
The family attend two of our social and sensory groups weekly, as I said previously we are in Woolwich so it's a long way for them to come. The family desperately need to be back in the area.
_____ is suffering from depression and is not sleeping, due to the fear of _____ waking up and getting to the windows and falling; or from breaking his toes by dropping a heater on them.
Please let us know how soon you intend to help _____ and her family,
Thank you,
Emma Dalmayne
CEO - Autistic Inclusive Meets
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