The Somali mother and son who have lived on a bench for 3 years... but turned down two f lats
A SOMALI mother and son have been living on a high street bench for three years despite being offered two different council flats.
The council has tried to rehouse the pair, offering them two-bedroom refurbished properties in Tooting, South West London, which typically cost £1,500 a month.
But the duo, who have not been named, choose to remain outside despite pleas from relatives and members of the local Somali community.
The pair have been homeless since December 2014 when they were evicted from the flat they shared nearby.
It is thought a death in the family and some time spent in hospital led to them living on the streets.
Locals say they initially occupied a bench on the high street but seem to have taken up residence outside the local library.
The mother, believed to be in her sixties, speaks to people as they walk past and her son, thought to be in his twenties, sits next to her on the bench.
On occasion he has been seen listening to his MP3 player and fetching chicken and chips for the pair to have for lunch.
But there are fears for their safety and concerns about health and hygiene.
Locals have been seen giving them food and water, while their belongings are stacked under and beside the bench. Each night the family is seen huddled under sleeping bags, sometimes cuddled up to one another.
Wandsworth Council officials said the most recent property offered to them was located just off Tooting High Street. It
‘Concerned for their welfare’
has two bedrooms and a newly-fitted kitchen and bathroom but the pair turned it down.
The council described the situation as a concerning case and said the mother and son ‘will not accept any offers’.
A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: ‘ This is a very difficult and complex case involving two people who simply will not accept any of the offers of help they have received from the many different agencies and charities who have been involved in trying to find a solution to this problem.
‘The council offered them two very pleasant and fully refurbished two-bedroom flats in Tooting that they could have moved into straight away – but they turned both down without even looking at them.
‘If people refuse to accept offers of help then that is their decision and their choice. We cannot force people to accept our help.’
He added: ‘ Since this issue arose we have repeatedly tried to engage with them but these efforts have all been rebuffed.
‘We have enlisted the help of their extended family and representatives of the local Somali community, but no one has been able to persuade them to come in off the streets.
‘We are of course enormously concerned for their welfare and are continuing to closely monitor the situation.’
In 2014, the council requested that a bench outside TK Maxx, where they had stayed for nine months, was removed for their own wellbeing.
Officials said they were concerned about their welfare over winter and hoped it would lead to the family agreeing to accept its long standing offers of help.
It was taken away by Transport for London but residents at the time criticised the move as a short-term solution.
On that occasion, the emergency services managed to convince the mother to undergo hospital treatment, which led to cheers from locals who had gathered there.
Figures released earlier this year revealed that the number of homeless people in England is on the rise, with 960 people sleeping on the streets in London in 2016. The borough of Westminster recorded the highest number of rough sleepers with 260 cases.
Anyone can ask the council for help if they are homeless or at risk of losing their home.
In order to be offered long-term housing applicants must be legally homeless, classed as a ‘priority’, be legally allowed to live in the UK, be homeless through no fault of their own and must have links to the area.
Examples of those with a ‘priority’ need include pregnant women, those with mental health problems, anyone fleeing domestic abuse and those with children.