After finishing a hospital shift at A&E, Maria expected to come home and rest. Instead, a drunk driver crashed straight into her living room. She was injured, and her home was left unsafe to live in.
The police called the council. The council said it was the landlord’s responsibility. The landlord said he’d have to wait for insurance to repair the flat. And the insurance did not protect Maria as the tenant. Each answer simply moved responsibility on.
In a single night, Maria lost her home.
With nowhere else to go, she moved onto an old friend's sofa. However, he had a sudden heart attack and died in front of her. His family asked Maria to leave.
Traumatised, grieving and seriously unwell with fibroids that caused severe bleeding, Maria had no choice but to sleep on the streets.
When Maria came to Crisis, she met Izzy, her lead worker, who listened, stood alongside her and helped her navigate the system. Susan, her health advocate, supported her through her medical appointments and advocated on her behalf. With their support, Maria was able to move into temporary accommodation and, eventually, into a place of her own.
"I'm so grateful. Without Crisis, I wouldn't have made it, because Crisis was the door to my salvation." — Maria, former Crisis Member
We are the national charity for people facing homelessness. We know that homelessness is not inevitable. We know that together we can end it.
Your donation helps to fund our year-round work with people experiencing homelessness. We offer individual tailored support to help people access benefits, healthcare services, employment opportunities, and more.
Our main aim is to relieve the huge pressure of homelessness, by helping people find safe and affordable homes.
We campaign on the political changes needed to end homelessness for good and conduct research to understand and highlight the scale, causes and consequences of homelessness.
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