Homeless and disabled single dad living in one room with young son claims he's been forgotten by Milton Keynes Council's homeless team

A homeless single dad with cerebral palsy claims the council has ‘forgotten’ all about him.

Sam Adams and his three-year-old son have spent two years living with his parents’, occupying the dining room of their two bed city estate house.

Also living in the property are his two grown-up brothers, one of whom is autistic.

"It’s overcrowded, to say the least,” he said.

"It was already cramped before my son and I had to move in but it’s just crazy now… We live in just the dining room. We’ve squeezed in two beds and all our possessions.”

Sam, who is 32, who has mobility problems and uses crutches at times, lost his home due to a relationship breakdown and says he registered with the council as homeless shortly afterwards.

With sole custody of his little boy and unable to work, he found it impossible to rent privately.

"We only need a one bedroom place – that would be fine. Anything is better than one room. But no private landlord would consider me because I’m on benefits,” he said.

"I hoped the council would help me but it just feels like they’re ignoring me now. I’ve filled in three housing concern forms and I’ve tried to call the homeless team numerous times. Either the phone is unanswered or you have to leave a message and nobody gets back to you.. It’s a nightmare.”

Last month the Citizen covered a similar complaint from a mum-of-three about to be made homeless. She said she’d called the council 152 times over a five month period but still didn’t get through to her homeless advisor.

Sam believes some of his problems stem from the fact that he turned down the one and only temporary property the council offered him

"It just wasn’t suitable for my disability. I couldn’t get around. And it had a huge garden, which I just wouldn’t be able to manage,” he said.

A council spokesman told the Citizen: “We supported Mr Adams with finding a property, which was refused. Since then our housing allocations team has not received any further correspondence.”

Sam, however, claims he has been in constant contact and has even got a well-known charity on board to contact the council on his behalf.

"I ring and ring, only to be cut off or ignored. Once, when I managed to speak to someone, they didn’t help but said they hoped my disability ‘got better soon’.

"I was open-mouthed. Don’t they know that you don’t ‘get better’ from cerebral palsy?”

Sam said the friction caused by living with his family in such overcrowded conditions could lead to him having to leave.

"I’m scared I’ll be living on the streets and lose my son...Why won’t anyone help me?”

The Citizen asked MK Council if a housing advisor could call Sam and discuss his problems.

A spokesman said: “We’re happy to help Mr Adams to reactivate his application and will be encouraging him to do so.”