Sunday, 27 September 2015

Premature Baby D!ed Just Two Months After His Homeless Parents Were Forced To Sleep In A Car---

Just two months after he was born prematurely and forced to sleep in his homeless parents' car because they could not afford to pay for accommodation has d!ed.

Baby Donald was born two weeks early in Poole, Dorset, in July and his parents had no choice but to live out of their car after they were thrown out of their privately rented home.

The unnamed couple, in their late 30s, had been renting a room in Verwood, but say they were asked to leave by their landlady when Donald was born because she did not want a baby at the house.
Instead the couple spent Donald's first few nights in a bed and breakfast but were unable to pay for the room, so slept in their car.
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Speaking at the time, Donald's mother said they did not get no help from local authorities because they were not from the area.
Following reports of Donald's tragic death, local housing services in Poole have expressed their deepest sympathies with the couple, but say they have not spoken to them since before his birth. 
In July, Donald's mother, only named as Jane, 39, told the Bournemouth Echo that the family had been staying in a B&B in nearby Boscome and had twice stayed overnight in their car. 

Jane said: 'He's my baby. I'm not going to let any harm come to him - I'm just trying to keep him safe.
'We're all together, we're still a family unit. I love him to bits.'
Jane had moved to Dorset from Kent while still pregnant to escape the threat of domestic violence from an ex-partner, Claire Matthews who runs a soup kitchen in Bournemouth explains.

Mrs Matthews said the couple, who are believed to have moved back to Kent after Donald's birth, contacted her with the sad news that he had d!ed. 
Mrs Matthews said: 'We have been in close contact with the couple for a few months because they often came to the soup kitchen.
'Because the mother was from Kent the local authorities wouldn't help her, despite the father being from Bournemouth.
'They were never after hand-outs - they just wanted support

After Donald's birth they moved back to Kent because that's what they were told they needed to do in order to get the help they needed.

'The authorities there put them up in a B&B but then they phoned to say Donald had d!ed. We don't know why at the moment, but there will be an inquest to find out.
'The couple are grief-stricken. They are in a very dark place at the moment. They have nothing to live for now.

'It is disgusting that something like this could happen in this day and age. If they had just had some help from the local authorities when they first asked then Donald would still be here.' 
Ben Tomlin, housing services manager, Borough of Poole said: 'Borough of Poole was contacted by the mother and though she was not eligible, she was provided with as much support and guidance as possible.

'She last approached us in May and hadn't returned to Poole for help after her baby was born. Our deepest sympathies are with her at this time.' 
Mrs Matthews' charity Hope for Food has offered to contribute to the cost of Donald's funeral.


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