Andy's voice
After suffering a stroke and a period of being homeless, Andy began seeing his life improve with the help of Peabody housing association.
In 2014, Andy gave up work and moved into his parents' house to care for his terminally ill mother until she sadly passed away later that year.
On the evening of his mother’s funeral, his father suffered a fatal heart attack. In a short amount of time he had lost both his parents.
The family home was sold and Andy found himself homeless and living in a tent with the family dog until he found a place he could call his home.
Some months later, when he had finally found a flat to live in, tragedy struck again when Andy suffered a stroke which left him unable to walk.
"When I had the stroke; I was unable to walk, I was unable to balance - I was unable even to raise a spoon and put it to my mouth without dropping it,” he recalls.
I sat down on my sofa - on my own in my front room - and cried for half an hour
A period of rehabilitation in hospital helped him to regain some functionality, but on discharge he found his home was no longer a safe environment. He struggled to live independently. On top of that, he also had to deal with the loss of his family dog and he found himself struggling financially, unable to make ends meet.
“I lost my dog,” he remembers. “My kitchen had had a leak and was flooded. I sat down on my sofa - on my own in my front room - and cried for half an hour.”
But with the help of Peabody, a Housing Association, Andy began to turn his life around. He started to receive food vouchers, while they helped him with arranging benefits, which included a grant to install a wet room in his bathroom.
The wet room has made it safe for Andy to shower and clean himself; making his home more accessible in catering to his needs. The room comes with a wall-mounted chair, a heater and a raised toilet making the room less hazardous.
The changes to his bathroom have lifted a massive burden off Andy's shoulders, meaning he can carry out the simplest of every day tasks - washing himself.
Peabody also helped him with the installation of double-glazing windows to improve the temperature in his home, as well as a central heating system that Andy can access at the flick of a single switch.
Like many people in later life with health conditions, the small changes Andy has been able to make to his home have had a huge and life-changing impact.
