Hello one and all, I hope everyone is doing well today. For me and my brother there are some exciting but busy times ahead, which means that content on this blog may slow down for a time.
This is as me and my brother have finally found a flat that we are able to move into, with it being in the town where we currently live and in a famalliar and well-known area for us in the said town. Even better is that the flat in question is a council flat, which means no pressure from potentially overbearing and manipulative landlords, and no nosy estate agents.
Quite simply this means we can not so easily be kicked out of the said flat, for example if the place were privately rented, the landlord could one day decide to up and sell the place, putting us living there into uncertainty. Council places can often be much more secure, in that you will not find yourself at the mercy of landlord decisions, like we have done in the past, due to very unfortunate circumstances outside of our control.
I also know that many council places themselves can be pretty bad at times, that’s the risk when you come down to renting out a cheaper place, with such cheaper places tending to be council places. But with the council flat we have found, I think we really have got lucky with it, and it is certainly in better condition than all of the previous privately rented places we have looked at (which were unsafe, in bad shape, and quite ridiculously costed more in rent).
But our council flat is in an area we know well, and as such we know is safe and secure. The flat is in good condition, and we have already cleaned it ready to move in, all that needs to be done now is to put carpets or lino down in the bedrooms and living room. The flat also has a nice little balcony, and a well-sized kitchen. The bedrooms are also of good size, the bedroom I am getting is about the size of the one I currently have, while by brother is getting a bedroom twice the size of his current small one.
But with lots to do, getting carpets down, moving everything in, getting the electricty, gas, and water set up, getting the internet put in, getting our finances in order ready to pay for everything (bills, council tax, rent etc), we are going to be quite busy for the next few weeks. We also have some daunting housing benefit and council tax discount forms to go over. Luckily we shall have help from our sister, aunt, and social worker.
This move also comes at a time that I am starting a Google IT Course through the Prince’s Trust, the course is expected to be finished within 3-months but can be done sooner or sometimes later than that depending on circumstances, and is all done online through several work modules, ending with an exam, and then there will also be a jobs/hiring event that we shall be invited to afterwards, where I might be able to secure a job in the tech sector, or something along those lines, like an apprenticeship for example. All very handy to go towards building my CV and a possible career.
But I am also interested to see if the course will give me any skills I can use for this website and my blog, as I shall be continuing to do it on the sidelines of all this, but for now likely at a reduced rate so I do not become overwhelmed with everything currently going on. I am also learning some CSS and HTML through an app I recently downloaded, and will soon be going on to look into Javascript and Python as well. Already from the things I have discovered in HTML and CSS I can see me using them to possibly improve this website and blog, such as Flexbox in CSS.
I also highly recommend anyone now to look into learning some coding, it really is more simple than it seems, sure it can be complicated and confusing on a number of parts, especially once you start heading into things like Javascript. But even just learning HTML and CSS alone, which is not difficult, is hugely beneficial and important skills for the current times and the growing tech sector. There are many free apps out there that can teach you many different coding languages in an easy to understand structure, you do not need any priour knowledge to get started, I did not.
So that is what me and my brother have been up to lately and why we are going to be quite busy over the next few weeks and months, which means content on this blog will likely slow down at points, but I will try and get blogposts out whenever I can.
And on a final note, anyone struggling to look for a place to live, you should get in contact with your district or county council who may be able to help you find a place, and you should also get in touch with some organisations that can also find places for you, such as Peabody.
Sure, you may well have a bad experience of it at first like we did, such as being offered some appalling places, but you can appeal the decision of a place you are offered (by the council). So make sure that you note down all of the reasons why you think a place offered is not suitable and unsafe, and go all out about it as well giving as much detail as possible, as that is what needs to be done, the last thing you want is to be kicked off the housing list for rejecting a place on reasonable grounds.
And also make sure you have friends or family for support and also try and get a social worker as they can really help out with so many of these things, and contact other organisations/charities as well who can help out. For me and my brother both Mind and Autism Anglia have been a big help in our search for a place. Mind gave us a path for getting on the housing list with our council and Peabody (and also got me in contact with the Prince’s Trust), and Autism Anglia enabled us to get a social worker to support us into independent living, and also with many other things.
Also something else very, very important. Get all of your letters and documents collected up and filed in an easy to find place, so many forms you may get require so much information and thus proof along with it, it can be such a hassle if for example you do not have a way to prove your National Insurance number, or your date of birth, or just your identity in general, or how much income or savings you have. Things like bills (with your name), your bank statements, your benefit slips, photo identity (for me a provisional license), birth certificate, NHS letters that prove health conditions, and so on so forth.
I also did not know my National Insurance number for a time, but I did manage to eventually discover it on one of my benefit slips for ESA (employment support allowance), so make sure to look on those sort of slips, I think if you have a job the NI number should also be on wage slips (which are all also good to keep filed as they prove your income).
It really is all a massive hassle of bureacracy, and you will get annoyed and blow up at times and just want to give up. But eventually, if you keep on at it, you will make it. We can keep on hoping for a day in the future when the system becomes more simple.
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