A young disabled woman has been unable to leave a residential home for nearly three weeks because its managers are trying to evict her for complaining about her care, and for her attempts to enjoy a proper social life.
Lakhvinder Kaur, who has spinal muscular atrophy, says she has been “fighting non-stop” for seven years to secure a proper care package that will keep her safe, and allow her to live in her own home, manage her own support, and enjoy the typical social life of a young woman in her 20s.
Instead, she has had to move from one inappropriate care home and supported living setting to another since she turned 21.
Her current care home has raised objections to her organising birthday parties, and occasionally inviting friends over for late-night drinks.
It has also objected to the 28-year-old’s demands that she be supported by female staff who are properly trained to assist with her personal care needs.
Because she has nowhere else to go, and fears moving to another care home that she believes is unsafe for her – which her council insists is suitable – Kaur is refusing to leave the building.
Managers at the home say they will change the security code on the entrance if she leaves the building, and have already tried twice – unsuccessfully – to persuade the police to evict her.
The care home’s threat – and her lack of a support package – means she is unable to attend the funeral of her cousin, who died last week in Wales.
She has also now been told that staff will only provide her with reheated frozen food – which puts her health at risk – until she leaves.
Kaur says the forced move to a second care home would put her social life, her job – and her life – at risk.
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