A De Montfort University (DMU) legal practice student has played her part in ensuring that a young mother and her little boy were not homeless during the cold winter months.
Neneh Gebeh, 32, took on the case after local woman, Sandy, and her one-year-old son were judged to have made themselves intentionally homeless by their local council.
The pair had given up their council flat to move in with Sandy’s partner in London but, after just two months, they were forced to leave following some serious incidences of domestic violence.
Facing homelessness and eviction from their temporary hostel accommodation, Sandy turned to the Shelter Housing Aid and Research Project for help and was very grateful when Neneh – who is doing a placement at the project – was assigned to the case.
“I was really worried that my little boy and I would have to leave the hostel – and there was a real risk that he could have been taken into care,” said Sandy.
“My only hope was that we would be able to overturn the local authority’s decision.
“Thanks to Neneh’s hard work and the support of the team at Shelter, that’s exactly what happened – we’re still in the hostel and now just waiting for the council to find us permanent accommodation.”
The happy ending was a big boost for Neneh, who graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2011 and is now doing the legal practice course at DMU.
“Housing law is extremely complex but I was guided through the legislation by the team at Shelter,” she said.
“I then drafted a letter on Sandy’s behalf, challenging the local authority’s decision, and I was overjoyed when I heard that their original decision had been overturned.
“There’s still a long way to go before I’m a qualified solicitor but the experience I’m gaining in this placement has been invaluable.”
Chris Poole, team leader at Shelter Housing Aid and Research Project, is delighted with Neneh’s progress.
“At a time when resources are scarce and the demand on our service is growing, the DMU graduate students are voluntarily providing an invaluable and much needed pro bono service for our clients,” he said.
“They have all done really well and made great progress – but Neneh’s achieved a particularly good result in this case.
“I was able to point her in the right direction, but she carried out the necessary research and drafted submissions for the client with very little supervision – and very little intervention – from me.
“She did really well – and achieved the best possible outcome for the client.”
Deb Evenden, principal lecturer and pro bono coordinator at Leicester De Montfort Law School, said: “We are delighted that Neneh’s hard work and dedication with Shelter has been so valuable to Sandy and her son.
“Our partnership project with Shelter is a strong one and we are committed to supporting our local community through such schemes.
“Here at De Montfort Law School we see pro bono as an integral part of being a lawyer. We offer a wide variety of pro bono projects for our students, providing them with the opportunity to put into practice their legal skills and provide tangible benefits for our community.”
More information about DMU's Legal Practice Course is available at www.dmu.ac.uk/study|.
Posted on Tuesday 21st February 2012