Elaine’s story

Elaine's story

Elaine fell into rental arrears after suffering a serious heart attack that forced her to give up her job as a carpet winder.

She soon began to struggle without her earnings as her housing benefit didn’t cover the rent. Worse still, when Elaine applied for support from her local authority she discovered that her flat was affected by the ‘Bedroom Tax’.

She was eventually re-housed to an affordable, one bedroom flat, but it had bare floors. With no money to buy carpet, the stress of debt and the effects of living in a cold flat was making Elaine’s health even worse.

Fortunately, a local welfare agency pointed Elaine in our direction and supported her to complete an application for a welfare grant. We were able to clear her rent arrears and pay for carpets to be fitted before winter. Elaine said she was “over the moon” at the generosity she received.

Elaine said: “You were a lifeline for me.  I only had a little strip of carpet before, but now the flat is so cosy and warm. I had never been in debt, I’d always worked and paid my bills on time.  When I had my heart attack, and couldn’t work, everything changed.”