Please find a home for us and our disabled baby, say young couple

By jcharlton

by Jo Charlton

When a young couple from New Addington found out they were having their first child they were overjoyed.

But Rebecca Lock and Lawrence Coleridge were devastated when baby Maison was diagnosed as being visually impaired, and suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

To make matters worse the young family have been forced to live in a two-bedroom flat with Rebecca's parents in Warbank Crescent since their son was born last June.

Rebecca, 21, said: "We need help. We have to be with him 24/7 because he cries when there's no-one around him.

"It's practically impossible to leave him, even to run to the bathroom."

Lawrence, 23, is a roofer and Rebecca was a senior sales assistant in Allders in Croydon before she became pregnant, but they cannot afford a house of their own, especially now she is a full-time carer.

They applied to Croydon Council last June to be put on the housing register but so far permanent accommodation has not come up.

Rebecca said the council offered her a two-bedroom property with a private landlord but only for a temporary period.

She needs something permanent for Maison as doctors have told her she cannot even move furniture around because his sight problems mean he might bump into things.

Rebecca said: "We can't keep changing homes because he needs to get used to the same surroundings.

"We may need adaptations and there's a chance he may need a wheelchair so we can't have stairs. They've already told us he will need a frame to help him walk."

Maison's condition means he suffers stiffness in his whole body and his mobility will also be affected, although the extent will not be known until he is older.

This week a council spokesman said: "She is now on the housing register and is approved for housing in New Addington. It is likely that she will be made an offer in about six months.

"A medical adviser has looked at her son's medical needs and has not awarded additional priority because his condition is not related to his housing and, sadly, will not be improved by moving."

Rebecca has applied to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on three occasions to get disability allowance for Maison, but two of her applications have been refused and the third is still awaiting a reply.

She said: "From what they can see, they said he doesn't need any more help than any other child.

"But we travel to London all the time, in and out of hospital, and we have a monitor under his bed in case he stops breathing.

"How is that normal?"

The DWP would not comment on Maison's case.