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To: [email protected]

Rehouse Clavia

Please rehouse Clavia and her 2 young children . They were evicted by Lambeth council on August 9th from their Brixton home.

Why is this important?

Clavia Chambers is a 33 year old mother of two young children , aged 2 and 8 . She was evicted on August 9th from her home in Brixton at 10am . She had no one helping her but me and I had only met her the day before. Together we trudged through the pouring rain to Lambeth Housing offices , with as many of her possessions as we could carry. We arrived soaking wet at Olive Morris House , where Clavia pleaded for temporary emergency accommodation for herself and her two children . Can I say deaf ears ? Yes. The duty manager said plainly that she would not house this desperate and vulnerable family. Furthermore , if Clavia persisted in remaining in Olive Morris House ( the housing office for Lambeth council ) till she was housed then the police would be asked to remove her onto the street with her children.

Lambeth has a duty of care to this family and they are in denial of this fact , through claiming that she has made herself intentionally homeless due to rent arrears. An intentionally non transparent system of incredible complexity exists in Lambeth housing. Chaos and confusion is created resulting in so called shortfalls of rent occurring , hence the 'arrears' . A chronic shortage of well qualified lawyers willing and available to take on legal aid cases means she has been denied proper representation hence being evicted by the council. The solicitor she used did not attend the court to act on her behalf. She was , therefore, evicted.

I am asking every sane person out there with a heart to sign this petition and send a loud and clear message to Lib Peck , leader of Lambeth Council that this chronically inhumane treatment , throwing a family out onto the streets is entirely unacceptable and against basic human rights. Lambeth council has a duty of care to this vulnerable family however many times the housing office continues to deny this. Thankyou .

Updates

2017-12-24 20:28:59 +0000

Dear supporters,
Thank you for signing my petition. At Christmas it seems appropriate to update you on Clavia's situation. Although she has not been rehoused she is spending Christmas with her children in a friend's house whilst she's away. This means the family can relax on their own for a short while and not feel they are imposing on others. Lambeth council have not offered help but many individuals are continuing to provide help . Elle magazine online and South Lambeth Press have featured articles on Clavia's family . www.elleuk.com/life-and-culture/culture/.../homeless-woman-mother-christmas/
South Lambeth Press featured her on 15th December , not sure if it has an online presence as well.
Anyway, thanks to all and let's remember all those who will be having a difficult time at Christmas and let's try to do all we can to help the homeless in 2018.

2017-09-05 00:30:23 +0100

A very brief update to say that , although a very kind and generous anonymous donor has offered to pay Clavia's rent arrears ( the amount has still to be verified ) the council are unwilling to accept the donation . They are still adamant that they will not rehouse Clavia and her 2 young children . Neither will they release the vital information concerning the housing benefits paid to the private landlord. As things stand Clavia is having to patiently wait out a very painful process of cat and mouse . I will let you know of any further developments.

2017-08-18 12:24:44 +0100

The situation has not moved very far ahead . Clavia has been staging protests at Olive Morris House regularly since her eviction 10 days ago. She and the children have been sleeping on floors since then.
Legal representation is now in place , but Lambeth council are so far refusing to release requested information.
After more than a week of homelessness Clavia and her supporters peacefully protested in her home where they gained access for a short period. This quickly resulted in numerous vans of police arriving , threatening to arrest Clavia if she did not leave the premises. I'd like to think that it is an extraordinary situation where a Mum and her little ones are thrown onto the streets and that is apparently lawful , but trying to gain help to be rehoused is a matter for calling the police. I will keep everyone informed , and please spread the word about what is happening in the 6th richest country in the world. Let's make homelessness a thing of the past.

2017-08-15 23:19:36 +0100

1,000 signatures reached

2017-08-13 12:39:48 +0100

500 signatures reached

2017-08-11 21:56:11 +0100

100 signatures reached

2017-08-11 19:11:53 +0100

50 signatures reached

2017-08-11 18:22:19 +0100

25 signatures reached

2017-08-11 17:47:33 +0100

10 signatures reached