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Campaigners are staging a protest outside Olive Morris House in Brixton today to demand that local resident Clavia Chambers is immediately rehoused.
As we reported earlier this week, Clavia and her two young children were evicted from their Brixton home and denied rehousing by Lambeth council. Yesterday, in desperation, she re-occupied the flat she was evicted from as a protest against the council’s actions before the police removed her.
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Clavia insists that the arrears are down to mistakes in calculating her benefits when she took up part-time work – as a lone parent of 2 young children, who never earned more than £100 per week, she feels angry that the housing benefit she was entitled to was not paid and that the council are punishing her for their mistakes.
Campaigners will be assembling outside Olive Morris House today between 5pm and 7pm to demand that Clavia and her children are immediately rehoused.
Here’s the press release from housingactivists.co.uk:
Clavia is lone parent of two young children, aged 2 & 8. Lambeth Council evicted her from her home in Brixton last week when she got into rent arrears due to mistakes with her benefits.
After a protest on Monday the council gave her a hostel for one night only. Today Clavia re-occupied the empty flat she’d been evicted from as the Council continued to drag their heels in sorting out her case and refused to house her in the meantime!
Clavia had to leave the peaceful protest occupation because instead of Lambeth allowing her to stay, the police were called and she was threatened with arrest. She was worried about her children being taken into care if that happened.
Please join Clavia tomorrow at the council housing office to ensure she and her children are properly rehoused before she faces another weekend sleeping on the floor.
Clavia is one of thousands who find themselves punished for falling foul of the benefits system when they move in and out of low paid part-time work in our ‘gig economy’. Lambeth needs to sort out their benefits systems to make sure everyone gets the full benefits they are entitled to and nobody else goes through what Clavia is going through anymore.
Please show your support by signing and sharing her petition and contact council leader Lib Peck lpeck@lambeth.gov.uk directly to let her know this is a shameful way to treat anyone.
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Protest details:
Today at 15:00–17:00
Olive Morris House, 18 Brixton Hill, Brixton, London SW2 1RD
More info: Contact lambethhousingactivists@gmail.com
Or 07834 828 292
Updates on housingactivists.co.uk
[All photos: Lambeth Housing Activists]