I couldn’t believe that Thursday had arrived so quickly. I had spent all week covering the Conservative Party Conference and to say that I was tired is an understatement, but people still need help.
I was met at the cafe by a lady that we had helped a while ago. Her life is back on track now and she is doing well. She likes to come and have a chat with me, and I like it to. I regard her as a friend and we sat and put the world to rights.
I arrived at the Jobcentre and set everything up. Thank goodness I wasn’t on my own this week, last week was awful. People soon arrived, arriving at the Jobcentre for appointments many needing food parcels.

The weather is getting cold now, although it wasn’t raining. My thoughts go out to everyone living on the streets.

We spoke to a young couple who even though they are working they are struggling. Because they don’t work full time they are on Universal credit and they don’t have a penny to spare. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Universal Credit is hell on earth.

We spoke to a lady who was rushing out of the Jobcentre. I asked her what was wrong, was she ok? She told me that she was pregnant and they had sanctioned her. She couldn’t stop though because she was in a rush to collect a bank statement. I gave her a leaflet and told her that we would be here next week if she wanted to talk, and for her to read the advice on the leaflet.

We spoke to a lady who had just been informed that she had been sanctioned for not answering a telephone call from the DWP. She had already told them that her mobile phone was broken, but they ignored this fact and sanctioned her anyway. She will be appealing.

For those thinking that the DWP are lovely, are nice and they have sympathy you are very mistaken. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Apart from the odd nice advisor who never stays employed their long, its generally a soulless, heartless organisation where not a care is given to any claimant.

I spoke to an older, disabled gentleman who has to use a motorised scooter to get around. He had recieved a text to inform him that he had missed his ESA medical assessment in Huddersfield. Huddersfield is miles away, a train ride away and he would have massive problems being able to make this journey. I’m not sure if he had recieved a letter from the assessment centre informing him of this, but I told him that even though it is scary he must open the brown letters that come through his letterboxes. Many people are scared of opening them, the whole system makes you scared because they hold your future in their hands.

We gave him some good advice and helped him.

We spoke to a young couple with a young baby and a toddler. Both the children were ill, and they had a sickness bug. Even so they had to attend their appointment even if that meant that one of them had to keep running out of the building with a child that had been sick. Why can’t they just leave people alone. The mother of the children is also disabled, and in my opinion she shouldn’t have to attend a Jobcentre appointment.

I overheard a young man talking to a colleague saying that it is scary, that they have no power at all and the Jobcentre and a computer controls their life. This is the reality. A person’s life really isn’t their own is it.

I spoke to a homeless man who I like to talk to. He’s a lovely man and is looking much better this week. I really hope that he stays this way.

Thankfully I was joined by my colleagues this week, and some extra colleagues who come along when they are able to. This cheered me up no end. There was a good atmosphere outside the Jobcentre this week which was fantastic.

Remember, the DWP have no sympathy for anyone. A person might find a sympathetic advisor but the next week they can, and often are replaced with an unsympathetic one who will do their best to overturn the good work already done by their colleague.

It’s a system that is controlled by targets and figures, every person entering that Jobcentre has a value to them. If they can’t see a person having a value then they will be tossed to one side. Their life will be made very hard.

I can never, and will never condone the behaviour of the DWP. Nor will I ever sing their praises like its a celebration when they manage to treat one person nicely because this is what they should be doing to everyone all of the time. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, a person is not responsible for their own poverty. The system is and we need to change it.
A massive thank you to everyone for coming along to support the demo today. You all cheered me up, even though we are all suffering with various aches and pains helping people makes everything worthwhile.

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