'Isolated' disabled woman urges Bucks Council to find her new housing

Shenila Bawany, 49, was told she had to take a property offered to her in Chappell Way, Stewkley, in June 2022.

This was just days after Ms Bawany had come out of hospital, having been diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis, a rare flesh-eating disease, which has left her with only 10 per cent function of her left arm.

Ms Bawany moved to the UK with her then husband in June 2020, with the couple having moved around the world due to his work as a schoolteacher.

The couple separated three and a half years ago leaving Ms Bawany as the sole carer of their son, who is autistic and non-verbal.

Ms Bawany is unable to drive due to her disability, and cannot afford a car or driving lessons as she currently does not work.

A Connections Support volunteer, who regularly visits Ms Bawany, shared concerns in a letter to the Council, sent in June, regarding her mental state, after she said she had ‘lost the will to live and wished to die.’

Ms Bawany, who was born in Pakistan, said: “I feel I am very isolated in this village. I don’t have any friends, or people from my own community.

“When I lived in Aylesbury I had lots of friends and a support network, and those people will not come here to see me all the time.

“The bus services here are poor, there is maybe only one or two buses a day, and sometimes if you go into town you cannot get one back if it breaks down.

“The village has no amenities like a supermarket or a chemist or GP. If my son or I fall ill, I literally have to beg people for help to collect my prescription or take me to see the GP in the next village.

“I struggle to get groceries and everything has to be purchased online. I was on the bidding register, but when I got ill and was hospitalised, after I came out they took me off the process and offered me this property.

‘I said I could not move to this property in Stewkley because I do not drive, I would be isolated, lonely, but they said if you do not take it we will remove you from our list and you will not have a place to go, because we will take you off our homelessness list.

“So I had to take the house, and they said after one year I could look for someone to exchange with.

“Since last October I have been trying to find someone to exchange with, but nobody wants to move here.’

Ms Bawany grew up in Qatar, where she met her now ex-husband. After they moved to the UK, their son was born, before they moved to India and Bahrain due to her ex’s work.

“When I moved here with my husband in 2020 I realised this was the best place for my

son in terms of support,” she said.

“I thought it was best for my son that I stayed here and got him into the system, and to a school that would meet his needs. I told my husband if he needed to go overseas for work again I would stay here with my son.

“My husband has mental health issues due to which I couldn’t continue my relationship with him and decided to leave. On top of that he constantly cheated on me at every opportunity and in every country we lived in.

“I stayed in a homeless shelter with my son [after our divorce]. I then started getting my visa paperwork done, and got my leave to remain in 2022.

“Then I started bidding for houses and properties, then in June 2022 I became very ill and hospitalised for two months.

‘” lost use in my arm, I became disabled, and that was when I was housed here.”

Following her diagnosis of necrotising fasciitis Ms Bawany underwent surgery, waking up from a coma a week later.

This writer has seen copies of a letter sent to the Council by a Connections Support volunteer who regularly visits Ms Bawany, highlighting concerns about her mental state.

An extract from it reads: “Shenila has said to me that she sees no prospect of enjoyment or fulfilment [in life] just pointless misery.

“Shenila is frequently reduced to tears when she talks to me about these things and tells me that, on her own, she cries most days. I am concerned that she could soon get to a point where she can no longer cope with

all the negativity and decides to opt out of life.’

Ms Bawany has an English degree from university and used to work in the oil and gas industry in Qatar.

She says if she can move to a town like Aylesbury it would make it easier for her to find some work and potentially to learn to drive.

“If I moved back to town, I could potentially get some kind of employment even if it’s part-time,” she said.

“Being stuck in a village with no public transport makes it impossible for me to work. I used to drive in Qatar and I could probably drive here as well but I would need an adapted car which would be customised according to my requirements.”

Councillor Mark Winn, said: “Buckinghamshire Council is unable to disclose information about individual cases with regards to housing allocation.

“When the council accepts a homeless duty for any individual or family in the county, efforts are made to offer a suitable property in accordance with homelessness legislation.

“We are required to consider the clients individual circumstances to include location, transport, affordability, size and support and this will have been taken into consideration when the property was offered to Ms Bawany.

“If Ms Bawany’s circumstances have now changed and the property is no longer suitable we urge her to contact the housing team so that we can advise her of her options.”