By Gavin Mackintosh-
A mother of three whose teenage son was stabbed twice in a 4 month period in 2018, has called on Croydon Council’s Mp , Sarah Jones, to get her house in order and sort her useless council out.
Simone John, who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after her teenager was stabbed twice within a four month period in 2018, despite desperate calls for her to be moved, has had all efforts for accountability in Croydon Council to redress her complaints ignored so far.
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The distressed mother has called on Croydon Mp, Sarah Jones, to address the multiple issues making Croydon Council’ the scum of the UK’, and asks what kind of government fails to review the effectiveness of their Mps?
Her cry follows the recent murder of 16 year old Damarie Roye, killed by an older youth, 20 year old Bryone Whyne, who was filled with jealousy that his younger and better looking rival, was dating a girl he once dated.
Speaking to The Eye Of Media.Com as she nominated a professional to join our thinktank, Ms John asked this publication to pressure Mp Jones address the evil streets of Croydon and the hopelessness of Croydon Council , given the sorry state it continues to find itself in.
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”I don’t see what MP Sarah Jones is doing for Croydon that is improving it. Knife crime continues to be the nightmare of of every young parent in Croydon, and the council is in an awful state and filled with irresponsible officials who are well paid but don’t deliver enough to improve the well being of its residents. They keep hiring and losing staff, and they just seem to have no sense of responsibility.
”They have refused to address my serious issues , even though James Brokenshire had been dealing with them about it before he died. The council is just a big shambles, and the Mp’s presence is not making any noticeable difference to anything’.
Mum Of three Simone John suffered post traumatic stress disorder after son was stabbed twice
Several mails sent to representatives of the council have fallen on deaf ears, nothing new for a council that has long been in tartars , with a debt as long as anybody’s arms.
With a multi-million-pound fraud investigation into the Fairfield Halls shambles still pending, and the Penn Report into possible misconduct by officials and councilors also expected to be released in the coming weeks. Ms John is the least of the Mps worries at this time.
Not that Mp Jones is having any observable impact on Croydon Council, which has seen a high percentage of its executives forced out of their positions for one reason of unprofessionalism or the other.
Intervention
Following the intervention of the late Mp James Brokenshire, Croydon Council began communicating and admitting its despicable treatment of the single black mother of three, but blaming it squarely on an incompetent social worker who had already left the council. Presenting race as a causal element in the ill treatment of Ms Jones would be a none starter , as the council is perceived to treat the majority of its residents very poorly.
Brokenshire was Ms John’s new Mp when she moved to Hertfordshire and he did his very best to get some answers for her, leading her to feel very sorry and emotional following his death.
The late honourable Mp: James Brokenshire Image:Commons.wikimedia.org
Ms John was sent to Croydon’s then legal representative, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, who communicated with the distraught South London mother once, before being among the council execs to be effectively suspended from duty in February 2021.
John met with Ms Jones once at the height of her plight in 2018 , after the Mp arranged a meeting with her to move her away from the dangerous yob culture of Croydon. But Ms John was seriously abandoned
Frustrated and angry about the very bad way she was treated by Croydon Council, and the fact her now 17 year old son has a permanently damaged arm he cannot move. She says his whole life and personality has changed, and he reports having regular bad dreams, like she herself experiences.
Simone John, who is on heavy medication, and regularly sees a psychiatrist, has also accused Croydon Mp’s of incompetence and failure to improve the integrity of Croydon Council by investigating offending councilors, and taking appropriate action, comparing her with the Mp of her new borough James Brokenshire, who she says is far more professional and helpful.
Recurrent nightmares in her sleep, have included being teased by one of Croydon’s failed councilors, Cabinet member for for finance and resources. Simon Hall, who resigned from his post amid a number of scandals at the notorious council. Simon Hall lived a stone’s throw away from where the woman resided in Croydon, but only responded to one of her many emails, ignoring others, before he lost his post among other incompetent highly positioned individuals, earning a wage without delivering the
.
Simon Hall caused resident nightmares Image:democracy.croydon.gov.uk
Proud
In his resignation letter to Tony Newman, Mr.Hall said he was ”incredibly proud” of the role he had played over the last six and a half years. ”In that time, I believe I have played my part in making a positive difference for residents and delivering our manifestos”, he said. In reality, he made a nightmarish difference for at least this resident, who is so resentful against him, and wants him disciplined even though he has stepped down.
Ms John, whose psychological state of distress has been described as ”worrying” alleges discrimination including racism for her awful treatment, and cannot understand why she would have been ignored for so long when complaining about a serious matter.
She continued: ”. I might as well have been speaking to a brick wall when dealing with Croydon Council. I have asked Sarah Jones and Katherine Kerswell(Croydon’s CEO) to track down all those who failed me and investigate them. I sent them a mail asking for clarification of what they said to James Brokenshire, and they said they had 28 days to reply. The time period has gone, and I got no response.
Croydon’s CEO, Katherine Kerswell, who was appointed as permanent chief executive of Croydon Council in May, has not produced much results either. Her official role being to stabilize the council’s finances and secure a capitalization direction from the government to deliver Croydon’s Renewal Plan to improve the council for residents and staff.
Her post is directed at achieving organizational transformation, strong governance and affordable quality services in creating a financially sustainable council for the future. At this early stage in her post, she is already failing to achieve organisational goals, after failing to meet statutory deadline of 28 days to respond to a query by a single mother suffering with post traumatic.
Croydon CEO: Katherine Kerswell Image: gov.uk
Notorious
Croydon council is notorious for general incompetence of the highest degree, and has seen multiple senior officials resign, following a series of financial mismanagement, corruption, and disregard for its tenants.
Croydon’s Mp Sarah Jones, who is aware of the disgraceful conduct of many councillors and executives in the borough over whom she presides as Mp, has also been attacked for condoning discrimination and incompetence by failing to pursue disciplinary action against Council personnel who continuously ignored the now ill mother’s multiple cries.
”This just looks like discrimination to me, the council has admitted I was failed, but are refusing to bring those who failed me to justice. If people are allowed to get away with failing in their duty, they will just continue to do it wherever they go. They should not get away withy it, unless those in authority were in support of their behaviour in the first place”.
Multiple Emails
Ms John sent multiple emails to various councillors between 2018 and 2019, begging to be moved after her son was threatened by hoodie thugs, but was thoughtlessly ignored as though she did not exist. The mother of three has since developed post traumatic, acute anxiety, and depression.
Croydon Council admitted in a response to Mp Brokenshire, shown to The Eye Of Media.Com by the mother, that they failed to act quickly enough after admitting two referrals into Children’s Social Care in December 2017 and March 2018 which were not progressed into an assessment.
Councillors at Croydon’s incompetent council ignored over 30 emails from Ms John, who was desperately begging to be moved out of the gang ridden borough, after her son was threatened by a gang.
Following his first stabbing in November, 2018, she stepped up her complaints and pleas to be moved, but was mindlessly ignored each time.
The council’s response included an admission they failed Ms John and her son, but since their admission, have done nothing to compensate her or hold the offending parties to account.
”A further referral in May 2018 which was progressed to an assessment experienced significant delay in completing this assessment, and the allocated social worker left in September without completing it, they said. It was reallocated and completed in early October with recommendation to progress to a Child in Need plan.
”Although the plan was completed by the Council’s Assessment Service and subsequently transferred Na-sharn to Adolescent Services, the allocated social worker, Mr Gbassah, did not contact the family for three weeks until 7 November 2018.
On the same day Ms John had emailed police as she was worried about her son who she said was scared and at risk. The following day the Gangs Team alerted her social worker that they had received intelligence that [son] was at risk from two members of a gang.
On 10 November [he] now 20, was stabbed with a small wound to his upper right arm. He would not speak to the police and Children’s Services were unable to engage him either. The police did fit a safety alarm on the property and Ms John was advised to present herself as homeless.
However, no immediate action was taken to effectively address her crisis.
Although the social worker supported her move by providing information and confirming the family to be one at risk, the process was dogged by bureaucracy.
”The housing department explored a managed move via the Safer London Gangs Exit programme but this had to go through our tenancy team and there was a delay in getting this progressed, a response from the council read.
”On 14 January 2019 the housing department supported Ms John and her son for an urgent management transfer and offered to support them to move to a private rented property anywhere in the country.
Although the search continued the family had to remain in their property as there was no other option at this point due to Ms John’s request and the arrears”.
Second Stabbing
Her young son was stabbed on the second occasion on 3 March 2019 and was hospitalised on this occasion. He was discharged on 5 March and the family were placed in the Holiday Inn in Croydon.
After Ms John presented herself as homeless to Bexley who placed her in temporary accommodation in Gravesend to assess her application. She and her son, were eventually rehoused in September, 2019.
The email from the council to Mp Brokenshire continued; ”Having reviewed the case file I can see that the quality of service offered to Ms John and her son was not of a standard that I would have expected. We had an opportunity to work with [her son]in December 2017 and March 2018 and could have assessed the needs of the family at either of these points.
‘When we did assess in 2018 there was a significant delay in completing this, and in the new social worker from Adolescent Services contacting the family for Child in Need work.
”Although the social worker assisted Ms John in her application to move in November 2018, he was not proactive in moving this forward for her. He also did not visit the family as regularly as he should have.
However, I am unable to address this with him or his manager as they have both left the authority”
Croydon Council is a council in desperate need of transformation, and has been for a long time.
Mp Sarah Jones’s office was contacted for comment.
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