My name is Amelia, and I am a disabled mother being required to leave my lifelong home in Kingston, where I have lived for 33 years.

I live here with my seven-month-old son, Arthur, my long-awaited miracle baby. This house is not just bricks and mortar — it is my safe and familiar environment, already adapted to my health needs, and the only stable home my baby has ever known. It holds my family history, the memories of my late mother, and now my son’s first milestones.

This situation has arisen not because of any wrongdoing, but due to a sequence of legal and administrative decisions made during an extremely difficult period.

I was taken to court by Kingston Council at a time when I had a newborn baby, was severely sleep-deprived, physically unwell, and mentally exhausted. I agreed to a proposed outcome under significant pressure and without the opportunity for safeguarding and medical evidence to be fully explored. I was not in a position to properly process the long-term implications of that decision.

As part of that process, the court granted Kingston Council a possession order for my current home. At the same time, the council exercised discretion to offer me a tenancy — but only in a one-bedroom flat elsewhere.

This is the central issue.

The council has already accepted that it has discretion to grant me a tenancy. I am not disputing the court order, nor am I asking for special treatment. I am simply asking that the same discretionary power be applied to my current home, allowing me and my baby to remain here rather than enforcing a move that will cause avoidable harm.

Despite significant safeguarding concerns, the council has stated that it is “following the court order” without addressing the fact that it retains discretion to consider a less harmful and more proportionate outcome.

The background is important. The tenancy was previously held by my younger sister, whom I raised from the age of four after our mother died unexpectedly in 2003. My sister has now moved on with her life. This left me on a “use and occupation” account with no tenancy rights of my own, despite decades of residence. This is a technical tenancy issue — not a case involving rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, or misconduct.

I live with multiple chronic physical illnesses and serious mental health conditions. Sudden upheaval and forced relocation pose a significant risk to my health and my ability to care for my baby safely.

Forcing us to leave would result in:

⚠️ Significant deterioration in my physical and mental health

⚠️ Serious safeguarding risks to my baby’s wellbeing and stability

⚠️ Loss of already-adapted housing essential to my disability

⚠️ Entirely unnecessary disruption — particularly given that, in the near future, housing policy would entitle us to a larger property due to my son’s age, making a forced move now both illogical and harmful

I am asking Kingston Council to act with fairness, humanity, and proportionality by:

✔️ Applying its existing discretionary powers to my current home

✔️ Granting a tenancy that allows me and my son to remain here

✔️ Properly considering safeguarding, medical evidence, and the welfare of a baby

✔️ Preventing avoidable trauma caused by rigid enforcement rather than compassionate decision-making

This is not about defying the law — it is about how discretion is used after a court process, and whether safeguarding and human impact are meaningfully considered.

👉 Please sign and share this petition to show that the community expects compassion, accountability, and common sense when a disabled mother and her baby are at risk.