Where do you turn when you have just nine days to move house and need help with moving costs and buying furniture for your children?
Former Royal Air Force dental nurse Liz Laight was in just such a situation when a friend suggested she contact the Royal Air Forces Association.
Liz has suffered from fibromyalgia for many years and has lost several jobs after being unable to work.
The condition not only causes her intense pain, but also fatigue, muscle stiffness and problems with memory and concentration. She feels at the moment that she has more bad days than good ones and now struggles to walk to her local shops. She has been prescribed strong painkillers, but these have unpleasant side effects.
Liz and her son and daughter were living in a two-bedroom house. Liz couldn't afford one with a bedroom for everyone. She said:
"I couldn't ask my children to share a room, so I slept on a sofa bed in the living room. This would have been uncomfortable even if I wasn't suffering from a chronic pain condition."
As she could not afford to privately rent a three-bedroom house, Liz had to wait for somewhere suitable to come up - with a landlord willing to take on a tenant receiving housing benefit. Eventually the family got the good news they had been waiting for – but Liz only had nine days to arrange everything.
As she had served in the RAF, a friend of Liz's suggested she contact the Association to see if she could get help. She is so glad that she did:
"I am used to fending for myself, so it was very hard for me to ask for help. I felt like I had been let down by local authority organisations, as they didn't have enough resources to help me and my family, but the RAF Association kept their word. They brought smiles to my children's faces, by helping us move home. I feel very lucky to have been helped."
Ray Bunnage, Association Welfare Volunteer, said:
"I am so pleased that Liz approached us. We were able to help with moving costs, some new flooring and with furniture for her children. Liz has always done her best for her children, but in this case she needed a little extra help. That's what the Association is here to do."
Liz concluded:
"The RAF Association is amazing. They have lifted my world. Although I am still in a lot of pain, I am a lot happier now that we have been able to move house."
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