A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND elderly man in Newport was left in a car park facing homelessness after he was told to leave the hotel he had been housed in - with no further housing plans in place.
Thomas Olsen, 85, had been housed at the Premier Inn in Chepstow Road for the past two weeks after his previous housing situation was deemed unsuitable for his needs.
But yesterday, Friday, September 2, he was told by the hotel his stay ended at midday and he would have to leave - leaving him stranded in the car park with no idea of where he could go.
(L-R) Denise Olsen, Denise's daughter Lauren Olsen, David Olsen and Wendy Powell with father Thomas Olsen (seated) outside Premier Inn on Chepstow Road. Picture: David Olsen
Daughter Wendy Powell shares caring responsibilities for her father - who suffered a heart attack in November - with sister Denise and brother David.
She said Newport City Council had offered to re-home her dad in Bristol, but that this wouldn't be suitable.
“He is in extremely poor health and is not well enough to go to Bristol," she said.
“He can’t walk - I have 14 steep steps outside my house.
“They are going to cause him to have another heart attack - it's heart-breaking to see him like this."
Mr Olsen. Picture: David Olsen
She added she was "gobsmacked" by the way her father had been treated.
“I don’t want to see my dad die in this situation like this," she said. "No one deserves to live or die like this.”
Following a call from the Argus, Newport City Council has now arranged for Mr Olsen to be re-homed at a hotel in Cwmbran - but only until Monday.
A council spokesperson said: "Newport City Council’s housing officers have been searching for temporary accommodation that meets Mr Olsen’s particular needs.
"Unfortunately, due to events taking place this weekend, there is no availability in Newport or Cardiff.
"Suitable accommodation was found in Bristol, but efforts continued to find somewhere closer to Newport and this eventually proved successful. Temporary accommodation has now been secured in a neighbouring Gwent area.
"Newport City Council appreciates the concern this is causing Mr Olsen but the housing pressures are significant in the current climate and this is exacerbated by the shortage of temporary accommodation, particularly when major events are being held."
Denise Olsen, David Olsen and Wendy Powell outside Premier Inn on Chepstow Road
Son David said this left them with little clarity on the future.
“He was only meant to be in the hotel a week," he said.
“We had no idea where he’ll go.
“Premier Inn wanted the room back – the key was cancelled, and my sister demanded they make another one.”
He added: “The council have given us no plan about what is going to happen after Monday comes, the three of us have been beside ourselves with worry."
Premier Inn declined to comment.
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