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Right now many of us are concerned about the impact of rising prices, but for some people, the cost of living is already unsustainable.
Increasing numbers of people are accessing Framework services simply because they are struggling to pay their rent and other bills. Many people are facing the prospect of rough sleeping for the first time.
Homelessness can happen to anyone.
We can only carry out our life-saving work with the support of people like you. Please consider making a donation today, to help us to continue to save and change lives. Paul thought he’d done all the right things in life. He has three university degrees and has never had a drug or alcohol problem. He had a nice home, successive senior roles in healthcare and is a single parent to two children.
Things suddenly took a turn for the worst for Paul when he was made redundant and, because he didn’t secure another job quickly enough, he fell behind with mortgage repayments.
Paul thought he’d done all the right things in life. He has three university degrees and has never had a drug or alcohol problem. He had a nice home, successive senior roles in healthcare and is a single parent to two children.
Things suddenly took a turn for the worst for Paul when he was made redundant and, because he didn’t secure another job quickly enough, he fell behind with mortgage repayments.
Things began to spiral out of control as Paul’s mortgage lender took him to court to get him evicted.
“I was in a really dark place, and I didn’t know what to do. My GP referred me to a psychiatrist who saw that I was in a mental health crisis, and he referred me to Framework.
“An amazing woman called Tracey came to see me. She was very direct and clear, and she told me exactly what I needed to do. Tracey managed everything for me. She even turned up at court to plead with the magistrate on my behalf and got the eviction postponed until I had a place to go to. She set up a meeting with the council and eventually secured me a council house.”
He then started searching for work.
“Once you have a CV gap people just don’t want to know. At a job fair I handed my CV out to every employer offering to work for free and I got no responses – imagine how that feels.”
Used to being the family bread winner, being unemployed had removed Paul’s sense of purpose. When his children left home, his mental health took another downturn.
Paul had £50 per week coming out of his Job Seeker’s Allowance, all of it going to repay the council. He wouldn’t eat or put the heating on. At the same time and without his knowledge, Paul’s housing benefit had stopped and he was accruing rent arrears. Things had spiralled out of control.
“To this day, my children still don’t know about me being admitted to the mental health unit. I just told them I was ill in hospital.”
Paul then ended up in a mental health unit because he wasn’t coping, but all they did was give him medication, so after two weeks he contacted Pauline and Jeremy, his case workers at Framework.
Jeremy worked hard to get Paul’s rent arrears written-off by demonstrating that he had been treated unfairly. He knew that Paul badly needed to get back to work, so he made an internal referral to a Framework colleague, who looked at his CV and put him forward for a role at Framework.
“Being asked my opinion and contributing was a huge boost to my mental health and confidence. Soon afterwards a full-time role became available, and I successfully applied for the job.
“So, I’m back in work now and as it happens my son’s visiting me at the moment too, which is fantastic. I’m in a much more positive place. I could never have turned my life around without the help and support I received from Framework.”
