Kentish Express Ashford & District
Man taken in by mum back on the streets
A homeless man has returned to the streets after living with a woman who feared he could have died during a cold snap.
Darren Handley had been sleeping outside the former Mecca Bingo building in the town centre when passer-by Irina Zureiqi invited him into her home in Lees Road, Brabourne Lees.
The 48-year-old - who has been on and off the streets since he was 16 years old - says that if Irina did not take him in as temperatures fell below zero in January he probably would have died.
Mr Handley lived with Irina for about a month while she helped him to get his life back on track and find him suitable accommodation.
But now the mum-of-two who moved to the country from Ukraine 24 years ago - says she had no choice but to take him back to the town centre last week as she couldn’t afford to keep looking after him.
She said: “I was told to take Darren to a homeless shelter but it’s not even available now as the weather has got warmer.
“I had a meeting with the council and it said he was not vulnerable so it could not provide him with any accommodation.
“They said Porchlight is responsible for Darren’s accommodation but I’ve been dealing with them for the past month and they haven’t helped.
“My rent and council tax increased because Darren was living with me.
“The council said it couldn’t help cover the costs of him living with me.
“I told the council and Darren at the meeting that I had to take him back to the streets.
“If the council gave me a date of Darren’s relocation I may have considered keeping him with me but it couldn’t.”
After the meeting on February 28, Irina felt it was time to take Darren back to the town centre.
She added: “Darren is not surprised that he didn’t get anywhere to live.
“He said to me that he appreciates what I did for him.
“When we walked to the town centre he turned around and gave me a big hug and he said thank you for everything you have done.
“He said don’t worry about me and he walked away.”
A spokesman for Ashford Borough Council said the authority was aware that Mr Handley’s living arrangements had changed, and that support was being offered to him.
He said: “We will endeavour to identify accommodation for Mr Handley but are not under a legal duty presently to provide emergency interim accommodation while we are doing so.”
Porchlight - a homelessness charity based in Canterbury says it is unable to comment on individual cases.
A spokesman said: “We’re unable to discuss specific details because our policy is to protect the confidentiality of people we work with.
“Homelessness can be complex and helping people into accommodation is not always straightforward.
“For this reason, the time it takes to help people off the streets can vary.
“But we will continue offering support and looking for solutions for as long as we are needed.”
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