Michelle fears she would be trapped if there was a fire in her apartment block
By Gabrielle Sungailaite & Robert Firth
BBC News
A disabled woman says she feels like a “prisoner” in her south London council flat because she needs to move to a ground floor property.
Michelle, 48, said her current second-floor home was unsuitable and she feared she would be trapped if there was a fire in her apartment block.
She claims she has been asking Southwark Council for a ground floor flat for 22 years.
The council said it was assessing the “complex” case.
Michelle, who asked not to give her surname, suffers from arthritis, chronic pain and lupus, so she finds it difficult to stand, sit or move.
‘Can’t get down the stairs’
She said she urgently needed a ground-floor property with wheelchair-accessible hallways, a bath and an additional room for her son, who is her carer.
She said: “I’m stuck in here and I feel like a prisoner. I can’t get down the stairs. This place is making me really sad. The lifts break down all the time.
“My biggest issue is that the property is not suitable for my medical needs and I couldn’t get off this estate if there was a fire because I can’t get down the 30 stairs.”
In 2019, a doctor recommended that she should be given a property with a bath so she can wash comfortably, but four years later, she remains stuck in her second floor flat with just a shower.
ACORN, a community union, held a protest outside Southwark Council’s offices on 14 July and called on the council to find Michelle a suitable home as quickly as possible.
Image source, ACORN Southwark
Michelle was unable to join the ACORN Southwark protest due to her mobility challenges, but her son represented her instead
A spokesperson for ACORN Southwark said: “Of the 11 properties offered, two couldn’t be viewed as officers didn’t bring keys to show Michelle the flats, and of the other nine, none were suitable or she didn’t have the information to know whether they were suitable as this wasn’t available on the bidding site.
“She has had to be selective about which properties she views as she is penalised for rejecting them and there is a limit to how many times she can reject properties”, they added.
Stephanie Cryan, Southwark’s cabinet member for homes, described Michelle’s case as “complex”.
Ms Cryan said: “The council’s housing teams have been working together to carry out all the assessments required in order to make sure the home she can bid for will definitely be suitable for her needs and that her banding and criteria are correct.”
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