A healthy and stable home requires a healthy and stable environment
I took a call today from a client who is desperate to move to a decent, settled home. She rang because she was so upset by what she had just experienced she needed someone to talk to.
She had just dropped her toddler off at the local nursery and encountered drug addicts/dealers at the side of the nursery, trading and injecting themselves. Where are the police, she asked, and why should small children have to witness such scenes?
I encouraged her to be angry rather than depressed by the experience as anger is more likely to motivate action. We discussed the actions she could take, and she resolved to follow these through.
My first thought was that it was good that this client felt she could contact me for support about a matter that wasn’t related to her housing situation. I then realised that this was not true. Feeling safe in the local environment where you live is as important as whether you have enough bedrooms for your family or whether the ancient boiler is energy inefficient.
Sadly, despite efforts by local Councils to work interdepartmentally, this becomes more of a challenge due to tight budgets being squeezed even further.
It’s essential though, to address the housing crisis by improving homes and neighbourhoods and of course, providing renters with the same degree of security of tenure as owner occupiers. Both should be able to feel that where they live really can be called home.