Tag: funding cuts

Covid 19. What happens to the survivors and the families of those that have died?

Dear readers and subscribers it appears to be Thursday once again. I hope that you are all ok and as well as you can be.I’ve had a pretty busy week having a telephone consultation with my respitory consultant, blood tests and talking to my GP.

For covid survivors I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a doctor that listens to me and echoes mine and my consultants concerns. This is a rarity though.

Why is this a rarity you might ask, everyone should be treated this way. The sad reality is that they aren’t.Helping a patient with Covid 19 is extremely hard because they’re dealing with the unknown. Covid also presents itself differently with each and every person that catches it.

There isn’t any real ‘normal’ symptoms with Covid 19 because of this.For me, covid hit my lungs pretty hard, most likely because I already had mild asthma.

Covid likes to find a person’s weak point and attack there.

For other people they can get more neurological symptoms and not the classic symptoms. For them getting help is extremely hard.

Like my doctor said, so many doctors haven’t got a clue about how to deal with it unless they’ve had the time to research it themselves. I can imagine that finding the time to do this would be hard for them.

This leaves us with a massive problem though. Thousands of people with long covid symptoms are being ignored,some are being told that there’s nothing that can be done for them when that’s not true.

I was both unlucky and lucky enough to be admitted into hospital and this fast tracked me to the follow up care that I need. This is why I consider myself lucky in this respect.

But still thousands of people that are suffering with delibatating symptoms are being ignored, left on their own with no support at all.

Every covid survivor deserves to be listened to and to have their symptoms investigated. It’s vital that this happens. The fact that it isn’t happening is a complete travesty.

Then we have the families of loved ones that have died from Covid 19.They’re not being listened to at all.

The government is so far refusing to meet with them to discuss their needs and concerns.

Why the government refuse to meet them is unknown as of yet, but I do believe that they’re avoiding any contact with the public but my be is that they don’t want anyone challenging their extremely bad decisions

.Also add into the mix the farcical second lockdown. This lockdown won’t be successful because schools are still open etc. Unbelievable isn’t it.

We’ve also as a result of this got the real possibility of a lockdown over the Christmas period. To be honest I don’t mind this because we need to get this virus under control but so many people will suffer as a result of this possible decision.

Basically the government has done what it does best… Mess everything up, ignore the public and walk away.

This leaves the public to do the best that they can with very few resources if any.We are facing very bleak times and are going to do this with little or no Government help and it’s extremely worrying.

We have thousands of people that will be facing destitution in the coming months and they need help and representation.

We then have the terrible decision to remove Jeremy Corbyn from his position. They then allowed him to return but without the whip.

This is exactly what we don’t need at the moment. Jeremy deserves to be given the whip etc back.

The labour party should be united to fight the Tories against their terrible decisions that they’re making about the pandemic etc.

Instead it’s divided the party and members are leaving. Would it be too much to ask for some real united opposition?Can they please stop this witch hunt and focus on the government’s faults instead?

I urge them to think about this.

Thousands of people have died as a result of contracting covid and their families need help and support.

Thousands of people are ill with Covid and they need support.Thousands of people suffering from long covid need support.

They all need this support to come from the government’s opposition.We need this now.

I’m eight months into my long covid battle and it’s been awful. I’m trying to keep strong and fight back but it’s hard at times.

I don’t think that I could have done it without the help and support from my online friends

.For those without this online support it can and is a very dark and lonely place to be. Please spare a thought for them.

I’m going to end it there because I have to go and collect my meds.
Please keep safe you are important and I do care about you all.

Please read, share, tweet and email my blog.
I don’t get any funding for anything that you do.

Having covid has put an enormous strain on my finances.

For anyone that would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog.

Thank you to everyone that reads and supports my blog and campaign.

Laughed at for wearing a face mask.

Dear readers it’s Thursday once again. I hope that you are all as safe as you can be.

Good news! So far I haven’t rebounded again and I’m praying that I’ve seen the end of my Covid 19 battle. However I am aware that I can potentially catch it again.

My daughter came home from school last Friday with a virus. Thankfully it wasn’t Covid-19 but it quite easily could have been.

Viruses are free to travel around the school corridors and classrooms. There’s no way that schools can contain it.

Yesterday I spoke to one of my daughters teachers and she was very worried about working in this environment. It’s hard getting the balance right.

Children need to be educated, they need that contact with their friends at school but they shouldn’t be at risk of catching covid 19 and passing it on to family members and friends.

There’s no ideal solution, I wish that there was. So many people are at risk of catching covid 19 and I’m sure that I’m not the only person to be concerned about this.

Yesterday I had to go to my local town to do some errands. It exhausts me, but needs must so off I went.

I would do online shops but I can’t afford to do this.

I was happy to see more people wearing masks, but so many wernt. It’s so frustrating.

A friend of mine said that it’s good manners to wear a mask and it also shows consideration for others.

I have to agree, it is and more need to wear them.

As I was walking towards a shop that I had to go into a man looked at me, laughed and said that I was an idiot for wearing a mask because they do nothing.

I didn’t get the chance to reply because he walked off pretty quickly and I’m not exactly going to go chasing him down the street. I don’t have the energy.

This persons attitude isn’t unusual though. So many people are saying that covid 19 is a conspiracy, that masks don’t work etc.

I’m sure that you’ve all heard and seen comments like this.

I wear a mask because I’m bloody petrified of catching covid 19 again. It’s taken me months of struggling to get over it and my long covid battle isn’t over yet.

I also wear a mask because I don’t want anyone else to catch any viruses that might be walking around with me. I want to be responsible and help as much as I can.

I also wear a mask because Tameside is now in the double red zone and is heading for another lockdown.

Now going back and to the man that laughed at me for wearing a mask. I’m certain that he will change his mind about wearing one of he catches it.

It’s impossible to get a covid 19 test at the moment. The government has completely failed everyone. The testing process is a shambles and don’t get me started on their rubbish track and trace scheme.

We have all been failed by the government, I and others expected this though.

In other news, my local hospital Tameside Hospital has been in the news again.

Sadly its a hotbed for covid 19 and patients on non covid wards have died from it.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/16/tameside-hospital-covid-deaths-are-canary-in-the-mine

Maybe this was caused by people not adhering by the government guidance for wearing masks and keeping hands clean. Who knows but I’m sure that they’ve played a part in this.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has died from covid 19 and their families. It’s heartbreaking especially when so much of this was completely preventable.

Yesterday I cut my hand on a tin in my rubbish bin. It was totally my own fault, I wasn’t paying attention.

It looks like it could do with a couple of stitches but there’s no way that I was going to go to the hospital after this weeks covid 19 news.

I cleaned it and have bandaged it and I’m sure that it’ll be ok.

This did get me thinking though.

How many people are choosing to stay at home rather than seeing a doctor when they need to?

It’s a scary thought.

How many people have absolutely no support and are trying their best to get through this nightmare which is covid 19?

The government has been extremely negligent in providing support for people. They don’t care and it appears that they’re quite proud of their attitude regarding covid 19.

This leaves us living in some kind of limbo waiting for covid 19 to catch us.

All I can suggest is to keep yourself as safe as you can do. You know yourself better than anyone else.

Don’t let anyone else judge you for the decisions that you have been forced to make to keep yourself safe.

I really hope that you all manage to keep safe and as well as you can be.

Please read, share and tweet my blog.

A massive thank you to everyone that supports my blog and my campaign.

I couldn’t do this without you. Your support means the world to me.

I receive no funding for anything that I do and it’s a struggle to say the least.

This week I helped four families.

For anyone that would like to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. Thank you x.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

I’ve had no payments for 13 months. Welcome to universal credit.

Dear readers,

It appears that autumn has now merged into winter, it’s freezing out there horrific for anyone street homeless and anyone that can’t afford to heat their homes.

This cold weather worries me because so many people won’t survive the cold, many will either end up in hospital or become ill as a result.

Before the demo I always have a quick walk around the town centre to check in with people and see if they’re OK. I had some really good conversations, people are far more supportive than they were years ago.

Today was quite a busy demo, I spoke to lots of people with differing problems many of them homeless living in temporary accommodation, others street homeless having to rely on the bed for a night scheme. It helps a lot but it isn’t perfect. In reality no one should be homeless like this at all.

I had a long conversation with a young homeless man, he’s trying so hard to survive out there. He told me that he’s getting pressurised by his Jobcentre advisor to find work, according to them it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t got an address even a temporary one.

He told me that he’s been put on endless useless courses that have only promoted zero hour contract agency work, not really suitable for anyone especially when you’re homeless.

You’d think that he would be getting help with this but nope, work must come first, the DWP must come first and complying with the system must be a priority above everything else.

We as rational thinking people know the work doesn’t miraculously cure a person of all their ills and problems, zero hour contract employment makes these things much worse.

I’m sick to death of hearing the same old statements from the government and suchlike. They don’t care, they don’t have your best interests at heart afterall they have a swinging brick in place of a heart.

We spoke to a woman with four children whos universal credit had been stopped because she apparently hadn’t agreed to the claimant commitment. She hadn’t been asked to review it online and luckily she managed to get this decision overturned and they’ll reinstate her payments straight away.

This however hasn’t helped her with her problems regarding council tax and this matter is ongoing.

I spoke to a man that told me that he hasn’t received any universal credit payments for 13 months. I asked him why and he told me that the DWP insist that he’s working even though he’s provided bank statements etc to prove that he isn’t.

Guilty after being proven innocent because the DWP don’t want to give him his payments. Luckily he is still fighting this and I’m confident that he’ll win.

I had a conversation with a chap who’s in the process of claiming Universal credit. There is a problem though, he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

The system works against anyone like this, anyone with a disability, basically anyone. It’s a cruel, heartless system.

We had a conversation with a man that has recently been made homeless by his private landlord. He now spends his days trying to find somewhere to sleep and stay safe.

What was surprising today was the amount of young people, students at the local college saying that they hated universal credit and that they agreed with everything that we are doing, helping people and providing support.

For those working at Ashton Under Lyne Jobcentre that are telling people that they shouldn’t be listening to us, stop it right now. We help people, we feed them and provide solidarity and advice. These are basic things that you should be doing but aren’t.

Today was cold, but we helped lots of people and we will be returning again next week to do the same.

Please come and join us if you can, if you can’t please read and share my blog this really helps to raise awareness.

A huge thank you to everyone that shares, reads and supports my blog and the campaign.

For anyone wishing to donate there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog. I don’t know how much longer it will be there though because I have to pay my yearly subscription for this blog and at the moment I can’t afford to do this. I’ll loose the ability to put links like that on my blog but I’ll work something out.

DWP refuse to pay for DBS check but will pay over £200 for a course.

Dear readers I’m extremely sorry for the delay in publishing my blog.

This weeks demo was extremely busy, as usual the food parcels were taken as soon as they arrived. I really wish that this wasn’t the case but it will be for the foreseeable future.

As usual I will list some of the conversations that I had today, identities won’t be revealed either.

As I arrived at the spot where I pick the food parcels up from I was greeted by a chap who I had a conversation with last week. He had followed my advice and as a result he managed to get hold of some much needed work boots etc.

I’m so happy that I can signpost people, remember we don’t leave anyone in the lurch we always do our best to help everyone.

Here’s a typical example of DWP logic it’s obvious to me that they don’t really want people to find good positive employment.

Jenny spotted us she was leaving the Jobcentre, she asked me if she could have a leaflet. As I handed her a leaflet she expressed her disgust of the whole DWP system. Here’s her story.

Jenny told us that she’s a qualified nurse and she would like to return to work. She asked the DWP if they would pay for a DBS check. You’d think that the DWP would agree to this because they apparently help people into work……

The DWPs answer was this, no they wouldn’t pay for a DBS check but they would pay over £200 for Jenny to attend a door persons job.

If course we advised that a future employer should pay for the check but as we know not all employers will do this.

As I’ve said before claimants are nothing but a number to be bought and sold at the DWPs whim. They profit from sending claimants to these often rubbish courses and until this stops they won’t stop.

I was then stopped by a woman who’s being forced to attend what seems to be endless pointless DWP courses. She told me about the latest course that she was forced to attend.

She told me that she was told to attend an effective job search course for people with arthritis. Telling me about her experience she said “I was stuck in a room with lots of other people. They tried to tell us that we shouldn’t let arthritis prevent us from finding work. Easier said than done when you’re in constant pain.”

If this wasn’t enough enough she was also told that she had to attend a job fair in Ashton as well. The DWP advised her that if she didn’t attend they would sanction her.

The word on the street later was that the job fair was rubbish. Potential employers telling people that they were either too old or unsuitable for the work that they were offering. This didn’t surprise me because I’m told the same every year that they hold this event.

A little later I had a conversation with chap that I’d had a conversation with a few weeks ago. He’s been waiting for over 3 months for his first universal credit payment. He told me that the DWP have informed him that he should receive his first universal credit payment on Saturday. Let’s hope that they do.

Last but not least we spoke to a woman who was very quick to tell us that she was over £600 worse off since claiming Universal credit. She’s gone from being able to being able to cope on the benefits system to not coping at all.

Her story is that she had previously been homeless and she had been rehoused to a three bedroom house. She only needed a two bedroom home but she couldn’t refuse the offer of this property. If she did they would refuse to help her.

As a result shes now forced to pay the bedroom tax and top up rent as well as the council tax supplement. She’s applied for a help with this but she keeps on being refused. She’s also asked to move to a smaller property but this is refused also because she owes rent.

It’s absolutely shocking that local housing providers refuse to help people find smaller properties because they owe rent. Of course they’re going to owe rent they need a smaller home so that they can pay back this debt.

The whole system is geared against the poorest people in society. At every turn they get the door slammed in their faces, are told that they’re not good enough and are used by companies employed by the DWP until they burn out, become ill or disabled and are then left with no support at all.

Poverty is isolating which helps the DWP to abuse these people in whatever way they see fit. Like I said earlier we’re a commodity and we’re bought and sold at the DWP and governments whim.

We spoke to lots of people yesterday and offered help, advice, signposting, food, support and solidarity. We will return next week to help even more people.

Please read and share this blog thank you. Tweet it, email it etc because everyone needs to know the truth behind the DWPs false advertisements claiming that universal credit is the best thing ever.

For everyone who supports my blog thank you so much.

For anyone wanting to donate there’s a PayPal button at the top and side of this blog.