Disabled woman in housing Catch 22 situation (From Falmouth Packet)

Disabled woman in housing Catch 22 situation

8:20am Tuesday 2nd October 2012 in Falmouth/Penryn By Greg Fountain, Reporter/Photographer

Disabled woman in housing Catch 22 situation

A disabled woman, who is desperately searching for somewhere to live in Falmouth, is appealing for Packet readers’ support.

Cathryn Nolan, aged 63, is living in a bed and breakfast while she tries to secure more permanent accommodation.

Over the past six weeks she has spent nearly £3,000 on her board and lodgings, but has had little luck in finding somewhere she can call home.

Since 1987 her and her husband have lived in Canada, but wanted to retire to Falmouth to be closer to their son David, who is autistic and suffers from cerebal palsy.

Cathryn, who lost her left leg last year in an industrial accident and has to use a wheelchair to get around, flew on ahead to try and sort out some accommodation, but a “Catch 22” situation has developed due to her lack of a British bank account combined with her not having a permanent UK address.

She said: “The British government won’t let us put our money in a mainland bank.

“We can’t have a house because we haven’t got a bank account and we can’t have a bank account because we haven’t got a house.

“I just need a roof over my head so I can get a bank account, because this room costs me £65 per day and after six weeks that’s made one heck of a hole in my savings.”

Cathryn is in dire need of a permanent address, which would be the first step on the way to finding somewhere to live.

Her husband Graeme, aged 66, rang the Packet from Rocky Mountain House in Alberta, where he works as an engineer, to explain the situation.

He said: “We can’t get past this issue that you need an address |for a bank account and you can’t get an address without a bank account.

“Money’s not the issue, we’ve got money in an offshore bank account, but we can’t open a bank account on the mainland.

“We could pay three years up front if we had to. We are not |looking for charity, we just can’t get past the system.”

If you think you can help, contact Cathryn on 07795217562.