"I fought for this country and it means nothing."
Rob Homans joined the British Army in the Royal Horse Artillery and shipped off to fight in Afghanistan at the age of 19. He returned two years later for a second tour, fighting for the United Kingdom.
Rob's mother, Dawn Turner, said, "When he came back, he was broken."
Rob struggled to readjust to civilian life for years. He got married in 2015, but began struggling with mental and digestive issues. He first tried to take his life in 2019, then again in 2023 and 2024.
As a veteran, he asked his government for support, but was denied housing due to the large number of foreigners pouring into the country by boat.
Veterans like Rob should have priority for social housing because of the Armed Forces Covenant, but Worcester City Council said 'he's not a priority', his mother claimed, and only offered him an HMO far from his friends and family.
In August, Rob had attended his brother's wedding and had seemed happy, even though he was struggling to find a place to stay and was self-medicating with cocaine.
The British government told him, for the third time, that there was no housing available to help him.
'I said, 'A veteran's supposed to be getting priority.' She said, 'No, I've got plenty on my list, he's just got to stand in line with everybody else. He's not a priority.''
The second time he went to Housing, the local authority offered him an HMO in a known drug-addled area.
The female bureaucrat he talked to told him his application for housing would be denied if he didn't take that seedy place. During the visit, he pointed out two other veterans sleeping on the streets outside.
Rob was keenly aware of the nice hotels full of migrants that the British government has used tax dollars to support.
'I've got nothing against any section of the community. All I'm asking for is fairness. That hotel over there is full of refugees. Why can't I have that? If they can house them, why can't they house me temporarily till I get on my feet? I fought for this country and it means nothing.'
Rob took his life on August 22.
A Worcester City Council spokesman said: 'Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Robert Homans, and all those who knew him.'
The council refused to comment on Rob's housing issue.
That silence speaks volumes.
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