Ama and Selina, who both attended some previous Autscapes, have a group on
Facebook, which aims to get public support to resolve a crisis they are in:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=gro ... 1652354588
All of us are invited to join the group, to show our solidarity with Ama and
with Selina.
Here is a summary of the situation, quoted from the Facebook group:
Quote:
=========
In October 2009 a year ago Selina offered emergency temporary accommodation
in her council maisonette in Bristol to a friend, Ama Rainbow Love, who
together with her two children was about to be evicted and made homeless
again after seven years temporary accommodation and failed tenancies because
of lack of support. Ama was severely emaciated when she arrived in Bristol,
being dressed in her daughter's size 8 clothing which was too large for her.
Her children were also undernourished. Ama and her two children (now 18 and
21, who also require a degree of support for daily living) lived in Selina's
three-bedroom flat until a month ago.
Ama is believed by herself and her peers to be autistic, and she has serious
mobility problems as a result of a proprioceptive/vestibular disorder.
However until this spring Ama had not been registered with a GP for over
seven years, and so none of her conditions have been investigated or
formally diagnosed. Ama is receiving lower rate DLA (mobility) and middle
rate DLA (care) because of an assessment carried out several years ago, but
her problems have worsened since then and she is in need of far more care
now.
Selina applied for social care for Ama and her son shortly after they moved
in, but both were turned down, even though Selina had made it as clear as
possible that because of her own disabilities she could not care for them.
They were also turned down for advocacy support for a complaint (the only
method of appeal against such a decision) on the grounds that "since you don't
have services, you don't qualify for advocacy".
Selina's physical and mental health started to deteriorate almost
immediately from the strain of taking care of the family, and she was unable
to find the time and energy to gather support from outside or mount any kind
of challenge to the situation.
In April 2010 Ama was admitted to hospital for a blood transfusion for
anaemia caused by long-term malnutrition. (She had previously had a
transfusion in November 2008 for the same reason.) Selina's social worker
asked the hospital social work team to carry an assessment of Ama while she
was there in April but they failed to do this. Following some confusion the
hospital attempted to "rehome" Ama, without her children or any of her
belongings, instead of discharging her. Selina collected her from hospital
and brought her back to her flat.
Shortly afterwards her son was 'arrested for his own protection' following a
police helicopter search as he was making suicide threats. He was seen by a
duty doctor who said he was "mentally well and no longer suicidal" and
returned home by the police at 4 a.m. There was no follow up.
Ama was taken to hospital for a third transfusion in June but this was not
given as her haemoglobin, although half the normal value, was no longer
critically low. The doctor there wanted to keep her in over the weekend so
that her social care needs could be investigated, but Ama's fear of
hospitals, exacerbated by her bad experience in April, was such that she
chose to return home.
During this period Selina was also hospitalised overnight twice. The second
time she was placed in temporary accommodation by Social Services. After two
weeks she was forced to return home by a written threat that she would
forfeit her tenancy if she did not. (Selina's Housing Benefit was also cut
off at this time without notification, leading to additional problems over
the following months. She was also repeatedly threatened with losing her own
Direct Payments if she used any of the money to pay for care for Ama, at the
same time as Ama's social worker was saying that Ama didn't care because
"Selina's PAs are looking after her.)
A letter from Selina's GP to her social worker about the negative effect on
Selina's health of the burden of care was ignored. However in April 2010
Selina's social worker visited Selina for a routine reassessment, and on
finally seeing Ama for herself referred her again for social care. As a
result in late June Ama was assessed as eligible for care.
Ama's new social worker then put in place some autism-trained agency support
for her, but this was cancelled before it began by the social worker's
manager on her return from leave. Ama was then granted a small number of
hours of Direct Payments. (These were soon cut and then later cancelled.)
In late July Selina was hospitalised for a third time, this time for a week
with an acute arthritic flare-up. Once again she was discharged and forced
to return home. Soon afterwards Ama's Direct Payments were cancelled without
warning. Selina (who by then was suffering from a severe chest infection)
could not bring herself to tell Ama this, and once more walked out of her
home.
Selina stayed on a neighbour's floor for over five weeks, then when the
neighbour started to crack up under the strain she squatted for 12 days in a
community room in the council flats where she lives. When discovered, she
was again placed in temporary accommodation by Social Services at their
expense.
Meanwhile, Ama's Direct Payments were reinstated briefly. One of her two PAs
returned to college at the start of September and the other one soon had a
breakdown because of the impossible strain of being expected to provide sole
care plus advocacy and tenancy support for Ama three times a day, seven days
a week. (She was only being paid for 15 hours a week.) Ama's Direct Payments
were thus stopped without warning for a second time. Inappropriate agency
care was put in, but cancelled by Ama after a few days as it was worse than
useless.
On 5th November 2010, whilst Selina was still in emergency accommodation,
Ama and her 18 year old son were evicted from Selina's home and took her
place in the emergency accommodation. The move was undertaken by Selina and
her PAs in a voluntary capacity, but the accommodation was and is paid for
by Social Services.
Ama's daughter is still living in Selina's flat free of charge at Selina's
invitation, since despite her vulnerability and her expressed desire to live
with her family she is effectively invisible to Social Services. (She
attends college 20 miles away and is in fact seldom in Bristol.)
Selina was thus able to return home on 6th November (having stayed the first
night on the floor in the bed and breakfast to keep Ama company), but
because Social Services refuse to provide Ama with appropriate
autism-trained care support, she has become once again almost solely
responsible for looking after Ama. This includes shopping, cooking, minimal
clothes washing and emptying the commode Ama uses because she is unable to
leave the room.
Ama is unable to wash and has not had a bath or a change of bedclothes since
the move, and she is visibly losing weight again. Selina's health continues
to suffer as she cannot manage even the inadequate care she manages to
provide for Ama without compromising how she looks after herself, and also
her DLA expired in July but an application for renewal has not yet been made
because of lack of support time.
====================
End of quote
04 Dec 2010, 10:19 am
