Disabled Residents Left Housebound By Sanctuary Housing

Last year I wrote a couple of post's about Sanctuary Housing and their lack of responsiveness when it came to maintenance issues in their properties. Following on from these posts, I was invited along for a meeting with Ms Emma Keegan to discuss these matters. I accepted Ms Keegan's invitation to try and find out what was going on. Ms Keegan provided some reassurance during our meetings that matters that residents had raised with me were being addressed (some of these related to fire doors and other safety measures) - unfortunately, some residents now find themselves 'housebound' due to Sanctuary's failure to repair the only lift in the building since 10th December 2017. I've heard the excuse that they rely on a contractor to fix the issue, but ultimately the residents pay their rent to Sanctuary and a large organisation like Sanctuary should choose their suppliers better if they are 'not up to the job' I don't think it's an unfair expectation to have a working lift in the building when some of the residents are (a) elderly (b) disabled. I've contacted Sanctuary a number of times on this matter, already and have to say, like their maintenance, the response isn't (a) the quickest (b) satisfactory - No resident should feel like a prisoner in their own home and I find the whole situation unpalatable. Hear what the residents have to say about this situation on BBC Essex Radio