Introduction
On the 6th of August 2019 the bailiffs came and I was unfairly evicted from my beloved home of 19 years, after a nine year battle to get the truth out and some kind of justice. I failed to do this and save my home because it became clear that I was dealing with corrupt authorities and a housing association who cared nothing about the welfare of their tenant and their job to ensure the safety and welfare of a tenant. This supposedly Christian housing association perverted the course of justice in order to evict me in a court of law!
My favourite passage in the bible so far Ephesians Ch6:V10-12 (trying to get to know the bible better) talks of ” ….spiritual wickedness in high places….” This was it a Christian Housing Association and a London Borough Authority left me to suffer for nine whole years with their protected tenants not only taking Class A drugs in the flat above me but in fact operating a drug lab of sorts above my head! In a badly done convertion of a 19th century terraced house, into two flats. Inspite of a positive hair drugs test done by said housing association on my neighbours!
Pain and Anguish
Their Class A drug taking day and night which started with Cannabis caused me no end of anguish and pain. The never ending assaults on my body and symptoms which followed were nothing short of extremely traumatic and disturbing, it felt like some kind of rape! Symptoms such as loss of consciousness, nausea, flu like symptoms, tummy cramps and upsets, blood clots in the nose, hallucinations and lots more.
I called out ambulances on two occassions because I was so scared and felt so ill. They took me into hospital due to severe chest pains but I got disbelief from doctors and others. Although the paramedics said they could smell drugs in my flat and also on my clothes in the ambulance. The driver commented on my neighboirs windows all wide open on a cold January morning at 7-8 am, as we left for hospital. These paramedics became my chief witnesses but needless to say both the police and housing association refused to contact them for their information!? Even though I pleaded with them to do so over and over.
I realised I was bashing my head against a brick wall when Shelter the charity tried to help me but backed out when they eventually received my file from the housing association?! But they asked me if I wanted to see said file and sent it to me. It was then the humiliation and realisation hit that no one had any intentions of helping me and worse all parties except me the victim and including the perpetrators were colluding behind my back. They cared not one bit about my health or welfare! In the file were emails between the authorities and our housing manager who I had known for 15 plus years and who was more or less a friend I thought. Emails which defamed my character and aimed obviously to turn me into the perpetrator.
She (our housing manager) had helped me a lot when I first moved in including raising £500 for me for charity when I ran my fifth London Marathon, by putting me in their newsletter and inviting donations for a good cause. I was so grateful for her help and we exchanged Xmas cards every year, I used to give her fruit from my garden and so on, she even took me for a meal once. That was before these neighbours from absolute hell moved in and turned my life into trauma! I had nowhere to go and ended up resorting to living even in Winter with doors and windows open can you imagine? And I had to sleep with ear plugs due to the noise from above. So anyone could have come in my back door or patio door! Cardboard boxes lined the doorway frames at ground level in an attempt at stopping rodents from coming in! I still got a mouse in!
Even living with doors and windows open could not get rid of the foul, intense and awful smells which penetrated my flat day and night. Pretty soon into the nightmare I was diagnosed with a respiratory condition which caused symptoms of its own such as runny nose, coughing choking fits, hoarse voice, chest pains and more. This condition leaves me prone to Cancer and pneumonia by the way and has made me highly sensitive to any toxic fumes or substances! This is the condition fire fighters and victims of the collapsed twin towers got from inhaling all the dust and debris.
Coping
The first thing that comes to mind is that I don’t know how I coped with such pain and lack of care, sympathy from those who should have helped me and stopped me suffering. I thought everyone would be outraged and rushing around in order to help me! Wrong! Wrong in a big way! I went everywhere and to everyone for help the member of parliament for my area, citizen advice bureau, law firms and organisations, european courts of justice, the police, councillors for my area. You name it I went there for help usually over and over.
Instead of getting help my situation was usually made worse, the police for instance would write reports to the borough mental health teams saying I needed psychiatric help. The Sergeant called my doctor and suggested this to her, she said no. She said she had known me for years coming to the medical centre where she works and so did other members of staff there and never had they had a problem with me or reason to believe I had any such problem. She said she had my records and there was no indication of any such issue or medication prescribed for depression or any mental health problem or issue what so ever. But they continued on suggesting I had MH issues. I wish my doctor would have done more to help but after that she did not want to get involved. I was left alone to deal with everything.
My family were hopeless too, (sadly I no longer have my parents, my Mum was so concerned before she passed in 2014) not wanting or willing to do anything more than listen, talk about it and then usually dismiss, deny or diminish what I was telling them in some way. I always thought I was a strong woman living alone and independently and also because I always faced my problems head on. Without denial or self medicating or anything else people do which bottles up issues to the detriment of ones self-esteem and soul. I always believed in myself and in the truth. I think this kept me ever hopeful that the truth would out but it didn’t! Because there was a conspiracy against me and everyone including my family were happy to sit back and watch me struggle until I was actually evicted. How much easier would it have been if I’d had support!
Family ended up making me feel ashamed and embarrased about my plight but generally I felt I had done nothing wrong and I had nothing to hide. So I talked about what was happening to me, I told people and I am sure that helped me unload and let it out. Hiding your truth just leads to more pain and disfunctional behaviour long-term. I journaled about my problems and how I felt and I wrote a book, this helped me tremendously. I used music a lot and realised how much I love it! Sometimes it made me cry but that too is therapeutic.
Exercise has always got me through a lot, running especially, releasing those free endorphins. I am a trainer so very active and that helped my body and mind to not dwell on my terrible predicament. Sometimes I wished I had the courage to end it all but I am not a destructive person and my self esteem is healthy. But so many I believe would not have coped. Imagine dealing with being poisoned day and night but no one will help and worse you know everyone is trying to turn you into the perpetrator!
I never stopped trying to get help which stopped me going mad with stress and worry. As long as I was trying there was hope! Moving was not an option because the housing association refused to arrange this for me. As a single person with no dependents I waited ten years for this social housing flat initially way back then. Accommodation in London was bad then but now it is ten times worse. I could not afford it anyway to go from social housing to private renting.
I came through in the end although I am still recovering from it all. I had to also endure a harrowing eviction court case with a terrible barrister who was useless in court and who lost me my home of 19 years basically. But I am on the other side now and I was helped by clients and colleagues to an extent. Without that help and if I had not been open I would not have had that sprinkling of light over complete darkness! Unfortunately there could still be consequences healthwise after nine years of intense passive smoking!
