24 June 2024 , 17:38
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A pensioner is pleading with her housing association to rehome her - as she says her "stairs are killing" her.
Nancy Brewster, 82, is struggling to get up and down the stairs in her three-bedroom flat at the top of a two-storey building where she has lived for 28 years. The woman has been waiting eight years for Onward Homes to move her to a ground floor flat or bungalow. But although Onward Homes, previously known as the Liverpool Housing Trust, recognises the pensioner faces a "challenging situation", it concedes "there a shortage of homes" in the Wavertree area of the city.
Nancy has a number of health problems, including asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and was recently admitted to hospital with a heart complaint. Nancy, who has been a tenant with Onward Homes for nearly 50 years, has to make her way down 13 stairs, plus another 17 to get to the back door every time she needs to leave her property.
The pensioner must make her way down 13 stairs, plus another 17 to get to the back door every time she needs to leave her property (Liverpool Echo)
Nancy, aged 82, lives alone with her beloved dogThe woman, who lives alone with her poodle Zuki, said: "The stairs are killing me. I could very easily take a tumble on them. I'm in despair over it." Zuki is Nancy's sole companion after the pensioner's sister died last year, Liverpool Echo reports. It is a daily struggle for Nancy, originally from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, to get out and walk her beloved dog.
However, Nancy is concerned that if she moves to sheltered housing she would have to give up her dog. When she first moved in, the housing association attempted to install a stairlift, but the idea was abandoned when fitters realised it would have obstructed door access for the other tenants in the property.
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Onward Homes have previously offered her alternative housing, but Nancy claims their suggestions were unsuitable. She said: "The place they offered was on an estate in the middle of nowhere. There were no shops, nothing. No doctor's surgery or bus stop. I need somewhere I can easily access the doctor's. On an estate, I'd have to walk miles to get anywhere and I can't do it."
A spokesperson for the housing association said: “We understand that this is a challenging situation for Ms Brewster and are actively supporting her request for another property. There is a shortage of homes locally, but we have been able to offer two bungalows in the area and a place in one of our local sheltered schemes, which would meet her needs. Unfortunately, these property offers have not been accepted. We hope that a long-term solution can be found soon and in the meantime we will check if we can provide Ms Brewster with any additional support.”