Latest news with #Sanctuary
The Sun
3 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
I opened cupboard in new council flat and shower of 150 used ‘HEROIN' needles fell out – I'm worried my baby's infected
A MUM was left gobsmacked as a 'shower' of around 150 used "heroin" needles came flooding into her kitchen after a faulty cupboard was removed. Margaret Doyle has allegedly been told a 'junky' previously lived in her flat in Worcester and has slammed the housing association for not doing a proper sweep before she moved in with her baby daughter. 6 6 6 The 36-year-old told The Sun: 'In my opinion it must have been the biggest crack den around, honest to God. That's the only way to describe it. 'The cheek of putting me and my newborn child in here - they have no respect for me and my child.' Margaret and baby Maggie, now 14 months, moved into the Sanctuary property off Quay Street in the city centre in July last year. After the discovery, she fears her baby may have even touched a needle and is therefore at risk of infection. The mum described the flat as "disgusting", adding: "There was blood on the walls, there was blood on the roof. There wasn't floorboards, it was chipboard and there was stains all over it. "I can't describe how vile it was." Margaret, who previously lived in a refuge in Kidderminster before giving birth, said she was desperate to make it into a liveable home for her baby "so I started doing things up". Having been making do, she said in January the doors on the kitchen cupboards started to come loose. "I rang and rang Sanctuary and eventually they told me they'd be coming out on the second of July to fit new cupboards," she explained. Margaret said it seemed strange as she was told on moving in that a whole new kitchen had been fitted, she claims. I've transformed my horrendous council house & now I want to buy it - haters say I'm contributing to the housing crisis One of the cupboard doors was "getting heavier" as it got looser, she continued, adding: "I was slamming it hard and it was getting looser from the wall." Then on May 17, Margaret went to get her iron tablets from behind the microwave while she spoke to her mum on the phone when she made a shock discovery. Normally she would have blindly put her hand through the gap between the microwave and wall but said: "It must have been someone shining down on me - I didn't stick my hand in, this time I pulled out the microwave. "I was gobsmacked to see a needle right in front of me. I just thought I was seeing things for a minute." Margaret put the needle into a bag, though it penetrated her finger by "half an inch", and she called Sanctuary repeatedly before 10 days later they sent out two workers to investigate on Tuesday (May 27). They told her they could see more needles in the small gap between the cupboard and the wall. She said: "Two men came in and they said that they're in a very small gap in between the wall and the cupboard." "Oh, my god," said Margaret. "It was like raining an absolute shower of needles… there were spoons too." Oh, my god. It was like raining an absolute shower of needles… there were spoons too. Margaret DoyleSanctuary tenant The needles, some allegedly "half full of heroin", scattered over the worktop and floor. Margaret claims a gas man had previously warned her that a drug addict had lived in the flat before her. "He said 'I feel I have to tell you because you've got a baby," she said. "'There's a really bad junky that lived in this property before you.' "He said the whole place had to be swept for needles. Nobody told me nothing about it. "Obviously, I wasn't moving into a property that was a cleaned property because if it was 150 needles wouldn't fall through the wall." Margaret, who is also keen to move from her upstairs property into one on the ground so she doesn't have to carry the pram three flights, worsening her hip and back pains, has been using HomeSwapper to try and trade with other Sanctuary tenants. "Everyone I speak to on HomeSwapper doesn't want this place," she said. "It must have been for years. In my opinion it must have been the biggest crack den - honest to God, it had to have been. "That's the only way to describe it. The cheek of putting me and my newborn child in here - they have no respect for me and my child. "When they found all the needles I just burst out laughing. The said they put in a new kitchen - are they serious? "Do they think I'm that green that I'm actually going to believe them?" Margaret went on to say: "I can't describe to you how disgusting this place is. "There's still blood patches on the roof. It makes me sick. Where was the respect for me and my child who's never seen drugs in her life?" She thinks the previous tenant was, whilst "delusional" on drugs, throwing the needles over the top of the cupboard, leading to them falling down the gap and getting trapped. "It makes me feel disgusting and angry," she added. "The syringes are half full of heroin, blood, it turns my stomach. "Why didn't they put another junky in here instead of me?" A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: 'We can confirm that work to replace the kitchen units will be starting on Thursday 12 June and we will be speaking to Miss Doyle to ensure that any other concerns raised are addressed. 'We will also offer her further advice on how to apply for a new property and provide any support she needs through the application process.' Worcester City Council did not wish to comment when approached by The Sun. 6 6
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
New high-security shelters for women in crisis to sit empty during family violence epidemic
Nearly 30 high-security units for sheltering women at high risk of death by family violence will stand empty after the state government refused to fund their operating costs. Construction of the 28 crisis shelter units – expected to house more than 1000 women and children a year – is underway in Melbourne's north after the federal government provided $7.8 million in July 2024 to Victoria's 24/7 domestic violence response service, Safe Steps. The May state budget did not include the $3.9 million in operational funding for the new units for 2025-26 or the $9.6 million in ongoing funding requested by Safe Steps. As a result, the apartments will sit empty during a housing crisis, Safe Steps chief executive Chelsea Tobin said. Loading A Victorian government spokesperson said that since the federal government funded the construction of the apartments, 'they should fully fund it to become operational'. The construction money was granted after a string of brutal deaths in 2024 prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's rapid review into addressing gendered violence. It allowed Safe Steps to expand its wraparound pilot service, Sanctuary, from seven apartments to 35, adding 120 places for women and their children to stay for three weeks while they are connected with safe accommodation, social services, education and employment. Independent analysis of Sanctuary's first year, 2023-24, found it saved Victorian taxpayers $100 per night per client compared to putting women and children in motels, which are currently used to cover the large gap in crisis refuge places in Victoria. It found 98 per cent of those who stayed there did not return to violent – and potentially deadly – homes.
The Age
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
New high-security shelters for women in crisis to sit empty during family violence epidemic
Nearly 30 high-security units for sheltering women at high risk of death by family violence will stand empty after the state government refused to fund their operating costs. Construction of the 28 crisis shelter units – expected to house more than 1000 women and children a year – is underway in Melbourne's north after the federal government provided $7.8 million in July 2024 to Victoria's 24/7 domestic violence response service, Safe Steps. The May state budget did not include the $3.9 million in operational funding for the new units for 2025-26 or the $9.6 million in ongoing funding requested by Safe Steps. As a result, the apartments will sit empty during a housing crisis, Safe Steps chief executive Chelsea Tobin said. Loading A Victorian government spokesperson said that since the federal government funded the construction of the apartments, 'they should fully fund it to become operational'. The construction money was granted after a string of brutal deaths in 2024 prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's rapid review into addressing gendered violence. It allowed Safe Steps to expand its wraparound pilot service, Sanctuary, from seven apartments to 35, adding 120 places for women and their children to stay for three weeks while they are connected with safe accommodation, social services, education and employment. Independent analysis of Sanctuary's first year, 2023-24, found it saved Victorian taxpayers $100 per night per client compared to putting women and children in motels, which are currently used to cover the large gap in crisis refuge places in Victoria. It found 98 per cent of those who stayed there did not return to violent – and potentially deadly – homes.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Broken lift in flats 'traps' some for nine weeks
A woman living in a block of flats in Devon said she and a number of other residents were unable to leave their block for nine weeks due to a damaged lift. Myra Hunter, 73 said she felt "trapped" and "isolated" in her fourth-floor flat at Citadel Court in Plymouth. She said the lift, which broke in February, was a "vital part of living in the block" and she felt the fact they were left without one for so long was "not acceptable" and made her feel "vulnerable". Sanctuary Housing, which runs the over-55s housing block, which was built in 1987 and has 38 flats, apologised for the disruption and confirmed repairs works had been completed after delays in getting parts. Ms Hunter said that many residents were in their 80s and 90s and could not manage stairs anymore, adding that one neighbour could not visit his wife who lived in care. She said: "When you come here at 55, you don't anticipate being disabled. But, as age catches up with you, you need that lift." She added that the situation was worse than when they were forced to stay in during the Covid-19 lockdown. "To stay in because you can't get down the stairs from your apartment, it's really not good," she said. Ms Hunter said her and her seven-year-old granddaughter had got stuck in the lift for about 10 minutes in February after it broke, but "thankfully, a manager was on site to release them". She added that, on another occasion, one resident got stuck and firefighters had to be called to get them out. She said she felt nervous about getting into the lift because of the "constant worry" that it might break down. Ms Hunter said the information given to the residents by Sanctuary was "very sporadic" and "contradictory" and left her feeling that "nobody cared." "We need to know what's going on," she said. "We all own the flats, we need openness and honesty." Sanctuary said it was "sorry for the disruption and the inconvenience it caused residents". It said: "Delays with the availability of the specialist parts required meant it took longer than expected to complete the repairs." Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Woman, 78, left without toilet for two months Pensioners 'prisoners' in flats after lift breaks down Wheelchair user 'trapped in flat' after lift breaks Sanctuary Housing
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Broken lift in flats 'traps' some for nine weeks
A woman living in a block of flats in Devon said she and a number of other residents were unable to leave their block for nine weeks due to a damaged lift. Myra Hunter, 73 said she felt "trapped" and "isolated" in her fourth-floor flat at Citadel Court in Plymouth. She said the lift, which broke in February, was a "vital part of living in the block" and she felt the fact they were left without one for so long was "not acceptable" and made her feel "vulnerable". Sanctuary Housing, which runs the over-55s housing block, which was built in 1987 and has 38 flats, apologised for the disruption and confirmed repairs works had been completed after delays in getting parts. Ms Hunter said that many residents were in their 80s and 90s and could not manage stairs anymore, adding that one neighbour could not visit his wife who lived in care. She said: "When you come here at 55, you don't anticipate being disabled. But, as age catches up with you, you need that lift." She added that the situation was worse than when they were forced to stay in during the Covid-19 lockdown. "To stay in because you can't get down the stairs from your apartment, it's really not good," she said. Ms Hunter said her and her seven-year-old granddaughter had got stuck in the lift for about 10 minutes in February after it broke, but "thankfully, a manager was on site to release them". She added that, on another occasion, one resident got stuck and firefighters had to be called to get them out. She said she felt nervous about getting into the lift because of the "constant worry" that it might break down. Ms Hunter said the information given to the residents by Sanctuary was "very sporadic" and "contradictory" and left her feeling that "nobody cared." "We need to know what's going on," she said. "We all own the flats, we need openness and honesty." Sanctuary said it was "sorry for the disruption and the inconvenience it caused residents". It said: "Delays with the availability of the specialist parts required meant it took longer than expected to complete the repairs." Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Woman, 78, left without toilet for two months Pensioners 'prisoners' in flats after lift breaks down Wheelchair user 'trapped in flat' after lift breaks Sanctuary Housing
