The flat is with a private Landlady that will accept me for who I am and at a rate that is affordable. I am due to be paid on the 12th but will be short of £600 for the months rent in advance. I am unsure if I require a deposit at present but if I do I will need £1700 total to move in. I am hoping to raise £2000 to over crowdfunder fees any remaining funds I would use to try and set up my dream business of helping others though art.
I can then apply to get help with my housing costs each month.I have been moving around the streets, sofas n squats of London since I lost someone dear to me in the May of 2023…
I have been officially homeless since June 2024. By late November 2024 thanks to my Mums help I was lent the deposits to rent an art studio in London to keep my art possessions that I have accumulated in my lifetime as this offered me a place of safety.
Making art in the night seemed more productive than cycling the streets all night.
I wasn’t sleeping well after what had happened and felt like going back to Southend was not an option for me.
My art studios have given me somewhere safe to go when all else fails… Staying awake all night and making art has always been a speciality of mine so I found this easy when I don’t have a sofa or a room to go to and I have many ways to sleep in the day that are not always comfy but safe nonetheless 🙏
Food banks and Stockwell Community Centre in particular has been my biggest refuge, alongside Londons amazing transport system in the winter daytime/parks in the summer daytime.
The money raised will ensure I can pay the deposit and 1st months rent upfront.
This flat will mean I can give up my studio/storage facility and have access to a bath or shower each day, cook for myself and most importantly have a bed to sleep in each and every night. I will have the room to make art, sleep and feel like a human being again. I will be able to have my children and maybe even my grandchild come n stay with me.
I miss being normal, I miss having my own home. I miss feeling safe and being comfortable. I am going to be 50 this year,my body hurts, my teeth are falling out, I have a lump on my head that needs to checking out. Oh and a couple of blind spots in my right eye. I would like to be settled so I can sort out my health. Get glasses, see the dentist and doctor.
Then follow up all the wrongs that have happened on my journey of being homeless, classed as vulnerable and not being given the support needed. I would like to make a few of the wrong right by writing to the government and local councils, hospitals, MPs etc. about what has happened.
If you have got this far, thanks for reading and if you can help me even better you will deffo get a little piece of art in return 💙
I also totally understand if you can’t help but do me the biggest favour and share incase someone else can help me teamwork makes the dream work as they say.