Nadine Rich, 28, is a qualified NHS district nurse who has a three-year-old daughter to look after and raise – but she is homeless after her relationship broke down last April
All Nadine Rich yearns for is the ability to work.
As a qualified NHS district nurse hailing from Peel Hall in Wythenshawe, she has the responsibility of raising her three year old daughter, Nevaeh.
Balancing a career and raising a toddler is no easy feat for any parent, let alone a single mum like Nadine, and her situation is even more challenging.
This is because Nadine is homeless. Following the breakdown of her relationship last April, she found herself without a home.
Due to past circumstances, Nadine says private renting isn’t an option for her, leaving her only choice as securing a council house, reports the Manchester Evening News.
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While she waits on the list for a council house, she resides in temporary accommodation in Abbey Hey.
This location places her 11 miles away from her family, friends, workplace, and Neveah’s school.
Home infested with rodents
Her temporary flat is infested with ‘rodents’, necessitating multiple visits from pest control that have cost her £600 in total. The flat also suffers from mould which has required treatment, and Manchester council has carried out repairs.
Nadine doesn’t want to be in Abbey Hey. She doesn’t want to be homeless.
She wants to elevate herself and her daughter out of the 14-month-long predicament they’ve been in – but she says a DWP rule is hindering her.
As a single parent, Nadine is entitled to some universal credit payments to supplement her income for essential costs, such as rent. She informed the Local Democracy Reporting Service that this would provide a £378-per-month boost if she received it.
Regrettably, Nadine is ineligible for universal credit as she’s in temporary homeless accommodation, a situation not covered due to a DWP rule.
She’s therefore left with only housing benefit, which ironically reduces the more one works – forcing Nadine to reduce her working hours so that her benefits can cover her exorbitant monthly rent of £875.
Finding herself trapped, attempts to work full-time meant she couldn’t afford daily necessities, leading to rental arrears with Manchester council and subsequently being suspended from Manchester’s housing register, thus stalling her quest for a permanent residence.
DWP restricts full-time work
Nadine, restricted to 30 hours weekly, finds herself in dire straits.
The single mother expressed her plight: “I am getting the rent paid for, but I am being forced into poverty. I can work far more but I cannot afford the rent and petrol,” lamenting the costs that made full-time work unsustainable. “It’s £10 per day to get to and from work. If I work five or six days then that’s £60 per week in petrol.”
Facing an agonising choice she remarked, “It’s either my child or my job, I know most women have to make that decision but if I was just putting in the appropriate property, it would be different.”
While the government recognises the problematic interaction between universal credit and housing benefit, reforms are being contemplated to prevent others from experiencing Nadine’s plight.
“Through our Plan for Change, we have raised the national living wage, increased benefits and provided additional support to thousands of the poorest households across the country,” a government spokesperson said proudly.
“The government inherited a serious housing crisis, but we are taking urgent and decisive action to end homelessness, providing £1 billion for crucial services this year so councils can support families faster.”
‘My life is on hold’
Meanwhile, Nadine is desperately struggling as she shared: “It’s putting my life on hold. I cannot progress from band five to band six, because need to do a course. If I go to uni for the course, I still have to pay rent [and without an income] I will end up in rent arrears again.”
She added emphatically, “I’m a nurse. I’m a qualified nurse.”
Regarding Nadine’s apartment woes, Manchester City Council explains:.
“This property was inspected earlier this year in response to a complaint from the tenant. Some evidence of damp, and a small area of mould, was identified and we instructed the accommodation provider to carry out a number of repairs to address this. These were all completed. There was no evidence of pests at the time.”
DWP response
They continued with an open invitation: “However, if Nadine wants to get in touch with us again we would be happy to arrange a further inspection so any necessary steps can be taken.”
Regarding the flat’s location, 11 miles away from Wythenshawe, they further explained: “Pressure on temporary accommodation caused by demand relative to supply means that it is often not possible to house people facing homelessness in their preferred area.
“We are making progress in reducing such placements, both through increased prevention of homelessness and by increasing our supply of suitable temporary accommodation within the area, as well in the longer term by delivering 10,000 social, council and genuinely affordable homes by 2032 – with more being built now than at any time in the last 15 years.”