How we have helped
Real stories of lives we've touched
Angela and Lawrence
1. What circumstances qualified you for charitable storage assistance?
My husband and I are still homeless, we continue to be considered as vulnerable and we continue to be in dire financial straits as my husband is my full-time caregiver with some assistance from carers, which had been arranged by Adult Social Care Services and my basic pension is our only income.
2. Who else was affected?
My husband and I are affected by our unfortunate circumstances. .
3. How quickly did we respond? Rate our efficiency?
I had contacted your organisation since 4 August 2023 with my request for some kind of access to some of our belongings, which your organisation had kindly stored. Today is 21 September 2024.
4. What did we do to help, and how did it impact you?
Without the kind support from your organisation we would have lost all of our belongings and your organisation had been a real ‘life-saver’ at what had been (and still is) a stressful time for us under very adverse circumstances.
Your organisation’s storage facility and support with logistics has made a great difference and had at least been able to reduce our stress over one of the problems we had been hit with.
5. How has your situation improved since then?
Unfortunately has our situation not improved since we first had to approach your organisation with a request for help. We are still homeless with additional expenses and pressures whilst we are waiting to find accessible accommodation, as our health and/or mobility has significantly deteriorated.
But because of your organisation’s much appreciated assistance we had at least been able to focus on trying to find a way forward with our housing situation instead of having to worry each day about our belongings also .
6. Would you recommend us? Why or why not?
I would highly recommend your organisation to others in similar need to mine. In my case your organisation had shown itself to be a light at the end of what had been (and still is) a very dark and extremely scary tunnel and it had made a great and very positive difference.
We are incredibly grateful for everyone’s kind support so far.
Thank you and God bless .
Mr John
It's a pleasure to complete the questionnaire about the service Fairstore provided for SAFFA and our client, Mr D, in 2022-24.
I was recommended by a contact within HMP High Down to contact Fairstore when this man was desperate to keep as many of his possessions as possible, having been arrested and remanded the previous year with no chance - or funds - to put his belongings into storage.
I was impressed by how quickly Fairstore Labre were able to act to meet the deadline to clear his flat, sending men to pack the goods and load them for transfer to your storage facility. I had been Mr D’s caseworker for over a year and had negotiated with him what could and what could not be saved, and on the removal day, attended to oversee the activity.
SSAFA is a charity that signposts veterans of the British Armed Forces to a range of financial assistance that military charities may be able to provide, while also ensuring that they have access to other help to which they are entitled, such as from the Government.
The work Fairstore Labre did on this occasion was very much appreciated by the client, as it meant that, on release, he was able to be reunited with possessions that he valued, and this has now taken place, thanks to the patience of Fairstore in providing storage for much longer than had been anticipated.
I would certainly recommend Fairstore and their managers for their quick understanding of the situation, their willingness to help a man in need and their general efficiency.
Kind regards
Mrs Nancy
1. What circumstances qualified you for charitable storage assistance?
I have been living with my husband and children in a single room in temporary housing for over a year. The room is extremely small, barely enough for us, and unfortunately, we cannot afford the cost of storage, especially since we don’t know how long we will need it.
2. Who else was affected?
My family and I.
3. How quickly did we respond? Rate our efficiency?
I am grateful to the entire team for their quick response and efforts to help us.
4. What did we do to help, and how did it impact you?
I was provided with a safe and clean place to store our clothes and personal belongings, which saved us from having to throw them away, as we barely fit in the room we live in. This gave us peace of mind, knowing that everything we own is stored in a safe and clean place.
5. How has your situation improved since then?
Our situation has improved because we no longer have to worry about paying for storage every month. However, we hope to find a house soon so we can retrieve our belongings.
6. Would you recommend us? Why or why not?
Yes, I would highly recommend you because I see other families in temporary housing who haven’t heard of your service and cannot afford storage costs, so they are forced to live in overcrowded rooms with all their belongings.
In the end, I suggest that you find more volunteers; it would be better if we could access our storage whenever we need it since we left all our clothes, books, and personal items there.
Sometimes, it’s difficult for us to access them, especially when we suddenly need our jackets or winter clothes.
Thank you for your efforts in providing storage for families in need.
Sam Meacham
1. What circumstances qualified you for charitable storage assistance?
Was unfortunately in prison
2. Who else was affected?
My friends and girlfriend at the time
3. How quickly did we respond? Rate our efficiency?
Very quickly an 8/10
4. What did we do to help, and how did it impact you?
Was able to arrange to store my belongings so that I did not lose them . Really made a difference to my life knowing my items would not be lost and I would not have to buy things again and lose nostalgic sentiments
5. How has your situation improved since then?
I was able to put the furniture and my belongings finally into my new flat. Gave me much help as a platform to move forward
6. Would you recommend us? Why or why not?
Yes 100% it’s nice to know that there are people who do care and will help you when you think all else is lost. Forever thank you ❤️
Why Is Fairstore Labre needed?
These are some examples of the daily requests we receive for help with storage .
"I was trying to call you to see if you could offer any help or advice to someone who was made homeless. When this happened, she put all of her belongings into storage with a private company (Access Storage). She thought that she would only be homeless for a few months but it has been almost a year. This lady moved from a 3 bedroom house.
She is now in temporary accommodation (hostel) and is on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit so she became unable to keep up with the payments at the storage company. She now owes them more than £2000 and they have locked her storage unit and will not give her access until she has paid them or starts to pay them. "
"Thank you for reaching out to us about this and for the incredible work you do to help those in need.
I’ve circulated to our peer support groups for single-parent families in the Camden area. I hope some may benefit from this scheme."
"Dear Madam, dear Sir,
I wish I could store my luggage by Fairstore.
I am on the street, sleeping at the. Victoria Coach Station and I am tired and the weight hurts me. I heard you can help me by storing my luggage.
Please, let me know if I have to pay if yes, I can tell already that I am unable to do it."
"Following our phone conversation today, I am writing to enquire about the storage of a bed, a mattress, and a dismantled wardrobe.
I am currently in temporary accommodation and will be moving to permanent accommodation in the meet few weeks. I was not given an exact date for the move. But, I am hoping it will be within the next month or so."
"Just been evicted a couple of days ago. Because the council claiming that I’ve made myself intentionally homeless by rejecting a property I have already stated that I can live in that area (fear of violence) "
"I was explaining to Ed that "Make space" is unaffordable for me and that the price of my current unit will double in a few weeks to the point where I'll be completely unable to afford to keep my belongings there, so thank you so much for helping me it's much appreciated."
"Apologies for the late response as I was off sick last week. The client still requires the service however we are waiting for a health and safety assessment of her hostel room so that we get a clearer picture of what she needs to put into storage. Initially, it was 10-15 boxes however following a visit from the hostel manager the client may require more items to be placed into storage."
"We have a family that is being evicted (single male, two children) and has until Thursday to remove their belongings. They only came to our attention today so apologies for the short notice. I do not know how much they have but I will ring them to complete the inventory form asap so that we can determine this. The mother in the family recently passed away unexpectedly so our Children’s Services department will be assisting this family with the cost of removals – this is also the reason for the short notice."