A Bangor mum says that her family have been under pressure for years following a series of rejections to make adaptations to their home.
Bridgene Moore says she has been trying to get adaptations to her house approved for four years and that the constant rejections are having a major impact on her family and their mental health.
She says that when she moved into the house in Bangor she had been given assurances that it would be possible to make the changes to her home, such as creating an additional room to use as a bedroom and installing a stair lift so she "doesn't have to be carried upstairs by her husband."
Bridgene says they thought the house would be their "forever home", but are now desperately hoping for a new more suitable one due to the ongoing issues.
The mum of two suffers from static pelvic disorder, following the birth of her second daughter along with fibromyalgia and chronic back pain. She requires a mobility scooter to move around when not in her home and finds walking up stairs very difficult.
Her oldest daughter has autism and the downstairs extension would allow her to have her own personal space to help her when she is struggling with her mental health in the other bedroom. The family had originally created a small space for her under the stairs, but she has since outgrown that.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Bridgene said: "We had been advised that a private rental home was not suitable for us five years ago and went onto the social housing list. I had to spend time apart from my husband while we waited for a new house and believed it would be our forever home when we finally moved in.
"At the time we were told that we could make adaptations due to my condition, but everything has been a struggle.
"It took months for us to have a wetroom installed in the house and it has been an even bigger battle for us to get an extension put in for a downstairs bedroom and a stairlift so that I am able to go upstairs to my bedroom without being carried.
"This would also give my daughter somewhere that she is able to go and have some personal time alone when her mental health starts to get the better of her and she cannot do that by sharing a room with her younger sister. To date this has been rejected three times and it is having a huge impact on our family.
"I have also had a stairlift rejected on a number of occasions, with the additional needs of my two daughters being cited as the reason this could not go ahead."
Bridgene says that the family have over 140 housing points and are hoping to move into a more suitable property for them, but say they have faced a series of problems with this.
She continued: "We had told our housing officer the areas that we hoped to live in so that we would be able to move if a house came up, but I was shocked to discover that the area we had said had been marked down as somewhere we did not want to live."
A Choice Housing spokesperson said: "“Choice is committed to providing high quality housing, ensuring the individual needs of tenants are appropriately met.
“Due to tenant confidentiality, we are unable to discuss the detail of individual cases. We can however confirm that any requests for housing adaptations such as these are subject to a feasibility study, taking into account recommendations specified by the Occupational Therapist and compliance with Statutory Legislation.
“Unfortunately in this instance the feasibility study has concluded that the requested adaptation to this property is not possible. Choice are facilitating the family in sourcing alternative suitable accommodation through a housing transfer and we can confirm that all information relating to this is both up to date and accurate.
“We sympathise with the family’s circumstances and appreciate their frustrations. Choice have been and will continue to work with the Moore family to find them a suitable home that meets all their requirements as soon as possible.”
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