Housing Adaptations – Success
I’ve just received word that, after a lot of work acting as a go-between and negotiating on behalf of one of my residents, her housing adaptations are finally being delivered. This elderly lady desperately needed adaptations to her property so that she could live a normal life – go to the loo, wash, get up and down stairs etc. And yet, despite being put top of the waiting list it’s still taken around a year and a half for the work to begin.
Fighting for residents like this lady is one of the reasons I sought to become a councillor, and it’s a wonderful feeling when you’re able to make a difference (and now I’ve just taken on the case of one of her neighbours as a result). It’s just a pity you can’t always win these fights.
The really sad thing though, is that it takes so much time and effort to get work done: work that is absolutely necessary if residents are to maintain their dignity and independence. These are thing everybody has a basic human right to – and yet the council would rather prioritise ice rinks and advertising.
Last year the council did not manage to spend £900,000 of its Supporting People grant. Meanwhile the housing adaptations team struggled with a lack of staff and a lack of resources. This week the Labour and Independent groups on the council voted to oppose a Lib Dem budget which targeted resources at reducing the extraordinarily long waiting times for housing adaptations. This too is why I am fighting to get Labour out of office.
3:48 pm on February 19th, 2010
Well done and thanks Steve for your work which has resulted in this particular casework success.
I know of so many people in Salford who are crying out for much-needed adaptations – or even to be housed at all. We all keep fighting for needs to be met and for better standards.
As we work for social justice in Salford though, let’s spare a thought for the 1 billion people globally without access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion living without basic sanitation systems.
Living in Salford may be grim for many of us but we at least have safe water and loos. Let’s not take our blessings for granted… maybe it’s time to be grateful next time we turn on the tap.