Couple facing challenge with no solution in sight
The homes approached threaten to separate the couple because the wife is blind.
A DESPERATE husband seeks help and a better life for his blind wife after selling their home recently to settle accumulated debt.
Cyril ‘Billy’ (69) and Avril (66) Fitzpatrick urgently need help after a bad situation turned worse.
The now Rosettenville couple were forced to sell their home in Townsview in an attempt to clear municipal debt accumulated over several years. The couple who believed selling the house was the best idea, have had a bad situation turn worse and have since hit rock bottom. Billy said they were both retired and lived off his wife’s’ pension of R 3 000 and his social grant of R1 200.
He said they moved into a one-room place in Rosettenville as finances were an issue. The couple said they could not afford decent apartments or places to rent as they were costly.
The devoted husband said they had contacted their municipality at the Braamfontein offices in an attempt to get a municipal-allocated flat only to be told that they did not accommodate pensioners over 60 years in council places.
They were told council no longer takes in people over the age of 60 because they previously had difficulties with ‘an over-age’ tenant whom they needed to accommodate.
The couple has since been living in a room and had to sell off most of their furniture and household goods as they have no space for them.
Billy took the COURIER on a tour of his overcrowded home and said he and his wife had been using the microwave to cook, but it broke last week Wednesday, forcing them to live off cold meat and bread.
“We had to give away most of our meat as it served us no purpose – we couldn’t cook it.”
Asked where their stove was, Billy said they had to sell it too as it did not have space in the congested room. “We’ve had to part with most of our stuff,” he said.
The shower, basin and toilet were an arm’s length apart. The 66-year-old said they needed a more decent place to live in if he is to take better care of his blind wife.
“We are not looking for much – just a room with a decently-spaced kitchen, a toilet and a shower. We live on bread and rolls. After the rent has been paid, we barely have much to survive,” he added.
His wife Avril, who suffers from Arthritis in her hands, said she lost her eyesight in a motor vehicle accident in August 1972. She told the COURIER that she had adapted and knew her way around the room which was divided by two wardrobes. Avril said she listens to the radio and cleans their new home most of her days trying to make the most of their situation. She said most homes they contacted were willing to house her husband, but could not house her as she was blind.
Their one-room home often harbored water during rainy weather and this could be dangerous for Avril, said Billy.
“We have tried SOS shelters thinking we stood a chance but most of the places we were referred to were out of our price range,” he said.
Avril suffers from an apparent serious case of arthritis in her hands. Her pinky’s are locked closed and cannot be straightened. She said they had seen a doctor but felt they had more important things to worry about.
The Rosetteonville couple said a church close by was storing their wardrobes and some of their valuables for them.
“We’ve been through tough times but we never thought we would end up like this.”
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