Chloe Leighton is crammed into the disabled toilet of a busy pub, pleading on the phone with her social worker to find her a place to stay for the night.
She records the conversation because she doesn’t trust anyone anymore. What makes her situation even more perilous is that Chloe is disabled and autistic.
Until recently, the 33-year-old’s life was happy and stable.
Then last November, her father had a stroke and was unable to care for her, leaving her alone.
“Dad would keep me safe from all these people. He was the barrier,” she says.
Due to her vulnerabilities, her local council in Buckinghamshire had a legal duty to find her emergency accommodation and social care support – except she says that hasn’t happened.
At first, the council, then friends and family paid for hotel accommodation, but the money ran out and now Chloe has nowhere to go.
“Nobody knows what to do with me,” she explains. “I fall through the gaps.”
‘Mould and antisocial behaviour’
The law says that any accommodation must be suitable for Chloe’s needs, but if she refuses somewhere, the council doesn’t have to do anymore to house her – but it can still support her.
So when the council offered her a place in a hostel with a bad reputation in a rural location she refused it.
Around 160,000 households live in temporary accommodation in the UK – and even though it costs councils £2.3bn per year – the quality of it is often poor.
Sky News saw the hostel Chloe was offered. Residents there told us there was mould and antisocial behaviour.
They urged anyone offered a place there to turn it down.
Chloe struggled to arrange a visit to the hostel and wasn’t confident her social care needs would be met there.
A few weeks after she refused the hostel, the council wrote to her, explaining that they no longer have an obligation to find her accommodation.
The pub she was sheltering in had closed. Her friends and family could no longer pay for hotels.
With neither side backing down, Chloe faced her first night on the streets.
That’s where I found her, scared and alone in the cold.
“I don’t know what to do, I’ve never been like this before,” she said.
I decided to phone the police.
While I was on hold, Chloe received a call from the out-of-hours housing department, who were made aware that we were filming the exchange.
Chloe’s disability needs not met
After weeks of refusing to give her alternative accommodation, she was offered a place at a hotel a short distance away and she accepted.
But when she arrived, there was a problem.
The room wasn’t wheelchair accessible.
She couldn’t use the toilet in the room or anywhere else in the hotel.
Her fears of not being given suitable accommodation were realised. It was 3am.
Read more from Sky News:
Children facing housing insecurity ‘less likely to pass GCSEs’
‘It feels like we don’t exist’: The human cost of social care cuts
How a vulnerable man was failed by his carer
A Buckinghamshire Council spokesperson said: “We stand by the actions of our staff and as an organisation in regard to the content featured in this piece. We take our duty of care extremely seriously in regard to any resident who presents to us with housing and/or social care need and follow process and procedures rigorously and to the letter.
“We cannot discuss details of any individual case but do recognise the incredibly difficult circumstances any individual or household will be experiencing if they have come to us for help. We keep the person at the heart of all we do, doing what we can to tailor our support offer to their individual needs.
“Some cases can be long and complex, involving various stages that may include an emergency response, other offers of support and ultimately, we aim to provide a long-term solution that meets the needs of the individual or household. At all points in the process, any individual or household has a right to decline any support or options put to them. In such circumstances the council continues to work with the individual or household to seek a solution to meet their needs, within our statutory duties and the resources available to us.”
Last year council adult social care budgets were overspent by nearly £600m, according to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
A government spokesperson told us they had “inherited a devastating housing crisis and a social care system” that they are committed to fixing.
They pointed to their provision of the “largest-ever cash boost in homeless prevention services”, adding that they were also “delivering £26bn for health and social care” and had appointed Baroness Louise Casey to lead an independent commission “to build a social care system that is fair and affordable for all”.
Our few days with Chloe reveal a complicated story.
It’s about what happens when someone with complex needs comes face to face with a social care system that is chronically underfunded.
Understanding autism requires time, resources, money – something councils don’t have.
And for Chloe, it’s about trying to find some calm amid the chaos, so she can live her life.
