I received a letter today. I'm still trying to process all of the details, but from what I can make out it basically means I have to use some of my ESA to pay for council tax.
I am in the ESA support group. With all other benefits and with all other services there is some recognition of this, or the fact I am on higher rate care of DLA. However, now the council tax benefit has been devolved to local councils it seems they dont have to do this.
I have to pay about 20 pounds a month from my benefits starting in a months time to the council. I don't like the short notice of this change, ironically thats one of the qualifying reasons for my ESA support group status.
Apart from that I am shocked. I thought this government was all about protecting sick and disabled people. Well, I am one of those sick and disabled people that this definition has been so narrowly focused on. It can't be denied. I have the benefits to prove it.
The last few pages of the letter clearly state for the purposes of my housing benefit (which I am thankfully still entitled to) there is a set ammount (my ESA) that the law says I have to live on. Not using 20 pounds of that for paying council tax, but that exact ammount. It is the basic level of existance for someone in my situation.
So how can anyone justify making sick and disabled people pay out of the money they recieve from the government to support them in day to day life. The money I recieve might be more than other people, but that is in recognition of the fact that my daily living costs are more.
There is no such thing as a value disability. I can;t make the choice to spend money in other ways, or change my lifestyle to accomodate this change. It is not possible. and that is the point of my benefit.
So, government, local council what on earth are you doing?
Monday, 18 March 2013
Friday, 18 January 2013
I don't want to do this...
This post is hard for me to write. I do not like discussing my health, or the ins and outs of my benefits with anyone. But this government, and in particular this document http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/m-1-13.pdf is forcing me to.. Please share so at least its been worth it.
I have an interesting (well thats one way to call it) impairment. I collapse, without warning and for however long. It takes a long time for me to recover from these. Last summer I also starting fitting, alot.
After referal to the hospital and various tests for epilepsy it was concluded that this physical health problem resulted from stress. Or that is it at its most basic level. I have dissociative seizures.
Last summer I filled out my ESA50. Quite rightly I put all the information about the collapses in the box about loss or altered concioussnes. Quite rightly, because of the severity of them, I was put into the support group for a year.
However, the document I referred to above states this:
18 From 28.1.13, when assessing the extent of the claimant’s LCWRA, it is a condition that the claimant’s inability to perform
1.
physical descriptors arises
1.1 from a specific bodily (i.e. physical) disease or disablement or
1.2 as a direct result of treatment by a registered medical practitioner for such a condition and
2.
mental descriptors3 arises
2.1 from a specific mental illness or disablement or
2.2 as a direct result of treatment by a registered medical practitioner for such a condition
So, where does that leave me?
It would appear down a massive black hole created by the government to save yet more money. My needs, condition and ability to work wont have changed from last summer, and I was lucky to even get into the support group in the first place. However, now, that would seem highly impossible, what the hell is going on?
I have to admit this is the same with my bus pass. I get this because of the same condition, and when i went to get my form I was asked if I needed the physical or mental health bus pass forms. In the end I was given both, because neither of us could decide.
The problem, the BIG problem is, that one thing has an impact on the other. It is impossible to split the two areas up and think that they wont impact on each other. I am currently sitting here, snowbound. Whatever the reason behind it (whether phyiscal or mental health) it still leaves me feeling depressed and isolated, a mental health problem).
It is simply impossible and stupid to try and do this, unless of course they are trying to save money. And heres me thinking that the benefit was there to help people who cant work because they are sick.
damn those boxes they want to put us in are getting smaller huh?
I have an interesting (well thats one way to call it) impairment. I collapse, without warning and for however long. It takes a long time for me to recover from these. Last summer I also starting fitting, alot.
After referal to the hospital and various tests for epilepsy it was concluded that this physical health problem resulted from stress. Or that is it at its most basic level. I have dissociative seizures.
Last summer I filled out my ESA50. Quite rightly I put all the information about the collapses in the box about loss or altered concioussnes. Quite rightly, because of the severity of them, I was put into the support group for a year.
However, the document I referred to above states this:
18 From 28.1.13, when assessing the extent of the claimant’s LCWRA, it is a condition that the claimant’s inability to perform
1.
physical descriptors arises
1.1 from a specific bodily (i.e. physical) disease or disablement or
1.2 as a direct result of treatment by a registered medical practitioner for such a condition and
2.
mental descriptors3 arises
2.1 from a specific mental illness or disablement or
2.2 as a direct result of treatment by a registered medical practitioner for such a condition
So, where does that leave me?
It would appear down a massive black hole created by the government to save yet more money. My needs, condition and ability to work wont have changed from last summer, and I was lucky to even get into the support group in the first place. However, now, that would seem highly impossible, what the hell is going on?
I have to admit this is the same with my bus pass. I get this because of the same condition, and when i went to get my form I was asked if I needed the physical or mental health bus pass forms. In the end I was given both, because neither of us could decide.
The problem, the BIG problem is, that one thing has an impact on the other. It is impossible to split the two areas up and think that they wont impact on each other. I am currently sitting here, snowbound. Whatever the reason behind it (whether phyiscal or mental health) it still leaves me feeling depressed and isolated, a mental health problem).
It is simply impossible and stupid to try and do this, unless of course they are trying to save money. And heres me thinking that the benefit was there to help people who cant work because they are sick.
damn those boxes they want to put us in are getting smaller huh?
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
The security of information from the government
Aside from the current farce i am experiencing from the jobcentre regarding my actual claim, the phone call i just made to the jcp tops my list of stupidity.
You see, we have this new fangled system when you ring up the jobcentre, where you divulge your personal information to a robot before being connected to a human. It is, meant to make things simpler and easier on both sides, quite simply though, it doesn't.
Having gone through the process and queued in the conga line of joyous music for five minutes i was met by a jobsworth only found working at the government.
"you have failed the security questions, so i will have to ask you some more"
fair enough me thinks, im dyslexic so am prone to making stupid mistakes. After reeling off everything from my address, shoe size and inside leg measurement to the lovely guy on the end of the phone he came to the conclusion i must have been a fraud.
"im sorry madam, you have failed to answer these questions correctly so i am sorry i wont be able to help you today"
i politely requested that we start from scratch and actually check that he was actually trying to access my records.
"im sorry madam, i cant do that. You will have to ring again and repeat the process"
obviously getting upset by this point i tried explaining to him that i am dislexic and am sometimes unable to put numbers into their correct order. The reply?
"im sorry, if you cant do it yourself, then youll need to have someone else to help you"
i was so upset by this i terminated the call and curled up into a disheveled state.
The problem is, ironically, that the jobcentre demands this level of security to prevent fraudulent access to my claim. I am meant to be the only person who can access it. So, failing that, and having to divulge this information to someone else, surely defeats the object of the system? (apart from anything else the only person i trust is more dislexic than me, go figure).
I feel like its the same as those situations you hear about where shop and bank workers think its ok to ask a disabled person for their pin number.. If i cant access my own benefit claim anymore (and lets not even go there with the fact i cant telephone people most days) then what hope do i have?
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
the language of liberation
I attended the disability research forum at sheffield hallam today. As it seems is usual I had some thoughts that didn't quite fit with the discussion theme so I wanted to put these into words through my blog...
There are lots of parallels between the disability rights movement and other minority groups liberation campaigns. For example, within the LGBT movement the split between the biological and the social construction of gender and sexuality has been made to help understand their position, in the same way, the disability rights movement split impairment and disability with the medical and social model.
The thing that struck me today is that unlike the three liberation campaigns we were discussing today (autistic, LGBT and Deaf peoples liberation) the disabled peoples movement is missing something.
Within the autistic liberation movement (or as I learnt today the neurodiverse movement) they have reconstructed the language around autism completely and reframed it to neurodiverse/neurotypical to differentiate between the two groups that have been constructed.
Within the LGBT movement once again they have reframed the term gay and lesbian to become more positive and the term LGBT is now typically used as a stronger and more powerful liberation group by such organisations as the NUS etc.
Within the deaf community there is a big difference between being Deaf and deaf. Although within english this isnt a distinctive difference, within sign language it is, so it makes more sense in that context. However, this distinction is made to differentiate between those people who feel more along the lines of wanting to be cured of their deafness, and wanting to fit in with society, and then those who feel that being Deaf is a cultural minority and it is the responsibility of wider society to fit in to their world and learn to sign with them. It is a very similar link to the medical and social model debate.
So, why is this done? Well, by completely changing the language of the argument means that the people changing it become in control. Not only that it stops the confusion that still exists around which 'disability' people actually mean. It makes a clear distinction and definition of difference. As in, we are now working in a different framework and have adjusted our language accordingly. It can create a feeling of community and cohesion amongst those who identify within the new language and a new identity.
Although the disability rights movement has attempted to change the meaning of the word disability by splitting it off from the medical impairment, by not coupling this with a completely new way of defining and describing this change has left people feeling confused and a weird situation where you have to actually define what you mean by disability when you say it. I'm not sure what the answer is, but by looking at the other movements today made me think that perhaps it is this that is lacking from the disability rights movement and that it is something that should be considered?
There are lots of parallels between the disability rights movement and other minority groups liberation campaigns. For example, within the LGBT movement the split between the biological and the social construction of gender and sexuality has been made to help understand their position, in the same way, the disability rights movement split impairment and disability with the medical and social model.
The thing that struck me today is that unlike the three liberation campaigns we were discussing today (autistic, LGBT and Deaf peoples liberation) the disabled peoples movement is missing something.
Within the autistic liberation movement (or as I learnt today the neurodiverse movement) they have reconstructed the language around autism completely and reframed it to neurodiverse/neurotypical to differentiate between the two groups that have been constructed.
Within the LGBT movement once again they have reframed the term gay and lesbian to become more positive and the term LGBT is now typically used as a stronger and more powerful liberation group by such organisations as the NUS etc.
Within the deaf community there is a big difference between being Deaf and deaf. Although within english this isnt a distinctive difference, within sign language it is, so it makes more sense in that context. However, this distinction is made to differentiate between those people who feel more along the lines of wanting to be cured of their deafness, and wanting to fit in with society, and then those who feel that being Deaf is a cultural minority and it is the responsibility of wider society to fit in to their world and learn to sign with them. It is a very similar link to the medical and social model debate.
So, why is this done? Well, by completely changing the language of the argument means that the people changing it become in control. Not only that it stops the confusion that still exists around which 'disability' people actually mean. It makes a clear distinction and definition of difference. As in, we are now working in a different framework and have adjusted our language accordingly. It can create a feeling of community and cohesion amongst those who identify within the new language and a new identity.
Although the disability rights movement has attempted to change the meaning of the word disability by splitting it off from the medical impairment, by not coupling this with a completely new way of defining and describing this change has left people feeling confused and a weird situation where you have to actually define what you mean by disability when you say it. I'm not sure what the answer is, but by looking at the other movements today made me think that perhaps it is this that is lacking from the disability rights movement and that it is something that should be considered?
Monday, 3 December 2012
What price a tenner?
Today is international disabled peoples day (I'm british don't you know), which is also ironically the day I received my yearly insult from the government in the form of the Christmas bonus.
Its ten pounds. Yes really, ten quid. Its quite an insulting and somewhat tokenistic amount of money, and hasn't changed in all the ten years I have been receiving DLA. Now, I appreciate the thought, and it is quite sweet, but in this age of austerity, shouldn't the government be first looking to weird little traditions such as this first when considering how to save money?
Just think, there are 2 million people claiming DLA. So thats.. 20 million pounds. Add another 2 million onto that for postage and admin costs and it all adds up.
Now I'm not begruding my tenner, I really do appreciate it, honest. But choosing between ten pounds and having no DLA at all because its being reformed? I can do without my tenner thanks government. There are better ways to show you care.
Its ten pounds. Yes really, ten quid. Its quite an insulting and somewhat tokenistic amount of money, and hasn't changed in all the ten years I have been receiving DLA. Now, I appreciate the thought, and it is quite sweet, but in this age of austerity, shouldn't the government be first looking to weird little traditions such as this first when considering how to save money?
Just think, there are 2 million people claiming DLA. So thats.. 20 million pounds. Add another 2 million onto that for postage and admin costs and it all adds up.
Now I'm not begruding my tenner, I really do appreciate it, honest. But choosing between ten pounds and having no DLA at all because its being reformed? I can do without my tenner thanks government. There are better ways to show you care.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
an open post to all involved in activism...
I remember that
first time I felt called upon to act. To make a stand for something I
believed in, despite the many barriers I would be facing to participate
and march for the hardest hit. I came away from that protest empowered
and empassioned to make a change. I realised that it was possible for a
small group of people to change their world, if they were committed
enough. I became a disabled student activist, an elected representative
both locally and nationally and a passionate campaigner for disabled
people.
And then, it all changed. The reality of politics hit my ideological view of activism and dirtied the water. Ultimately, the inherent twists, turns and the constant who’s allied to who and trying to work out what’s really being said is a sad deviation from the ultimate goal of change making.
I didn’t come into this to make friends, but to make change. It seems however, that there are some people I have to be seen to be friends with and some not in order to advance my agenda. Call me naive but i genuinely believe it shouldn't be like that.
At the end of the day, it’s all a distraction, and at the end of the day it feels like nothing gets done barr bickering and arguing amongst ourselves. When there is more than ourselves at stake, shouldn’t we be putting ourselves aside for the greater good?
I’m writing this because I have become disillusioned with politics, student activism and the disabled students campaign. I have to be honest, I don’t know what’s next for me anymore. I am so passionate about making change, and so passionate about representing people, but when I get hit back by other things it just gets in my way and it leaves me exhausted. Should I just give up? Walk away? Or is there something, some one, to keep fighting for? Will it ever change? Someone out there give me some hope of a better future, or at least a feeling of some sort of humanity in all I do.
Anyone?
And then, it all changed. The reality of politics hit my ideological view of activism and dirtied the water. Ultimately, the inherent twists, turns and the constant who’s allied to who and trying to work out what’s really being said is a sad deviation from the ultimate goal of change making.
I didn’t come into this to make friends, but to make change. It seems however, that there are some people I have to be seen to be friends with and some not in order to advance my agenda. Call me naive but i genuinely believe it shouldn't be like that.
At the end of the day, it’s all a distraction, and at the end of the day it feels like nothing gets done barr bickering and arguing amongst ourselves. When there is more than ourselves at stake, shouldn’t we be putting ourselves aside for the greater good?
I’m writing this because I have become disillusioned with politics, student activism and the disabled students campaign. I have to be honest, I don’t know what’s next for me anymore. I am so passionate about making change, and so passionate about representing people, but when I get hit back by other things it just gets in my way and it leaves me exhausted. Should I just give up? Walk away? Or is there something, some one, to keep fighting for? Will it ever change? Someone out there give me some hope of a better future, or at least a feeling of some sort of humanity in all I do.
Anyone?
Friday, 19 October 2012
Whose mental health is more important?
Guest post from an email I received, didn't know what to do about so with permission blogging the story to get it 'out there' any help much appreciated. I am writing this in first person for ease of read.. :)
I live in a council flat, have done for five or so years. Its great here, really quiet, nice neighbours, great location and I'v made it into my safe space and sanctuary away from the world. Well, I guess I need to, after all I have mental health problems, and life gets too much for me. To know I have that space to retreat to gives me some form of stability.
Until tonight that is. This is the third time my neighbours been arguing, really loud. I know they listen to their music loud, and although its pretty distressing, I can cope enough with it or retreat into my other room. However, for the last few months (I cant remember when the first 2 times were) I have heard really loud arguing. The first time I wasn't sure what to do, but after hearing loud thumps like furniture or something I called 999, and it calmed down. The second time it happened it was distressing me and causing me real phyiscal problems (dont want to go into too much detail here) so again called the police
Tonight, a friend was with me, and he was concerned enough so again we called the police. They came pretty quick, we could hear them. Then they rang me on my phone. It was explained to me that this guy was known to the police, they called round often, but there was no one else there and he was shouting at himself. In his attempts to reassure me he distressed me to the point that i dont feel safe in my flat anymore. Aparantly this guy has mental health problems, and was in regular contact with the mental health team, and had been assessed as ok to live in the community. I was welcome to call the crisis team myself, but acording to the police officer there was little they could do beyond that. I was also advised that if I was concerned at all about the loud noise to report it to the noise abatement team (which involves lots of form filling and not much action).
I am at a friends now, they were concerned enough about me staying there and I just want to leave and never go back at this point. I don't feel safe there, and thats no disrespect to my neighbour, but more about the lack of appropiate response from the police when I directly suggested the crisis team. Not only that, Im also concerend about how stable this guy truely is. Its scary to think hes only next door to me, and again not saying anything bad about people with mental health problems, I have enough of my own to be getting on with thanks, without having to worry about anyone elses. Surely I have just as much right to be safe in my own flat as he does to appropiate support and treatment etc. ?? What can I do, in the short term to feel safe, and in the long term. I dont want to leave my flat, I know I could end up somewhere worse, and I am really lucky to hae such a nice flat, but it needs to be safe. and thats just not safe...
I live in a council flat, have done for five or so years. Its great here, really quiet, nice neighbours, great location and I'v made it into my safe space and sanctuary away from the world. Well, I guess I need to, after all I have mental health problems, and life gets too much for me. To know I have that space to retreat to gives me some form of stability.
Until tonight that is. This is the third time my neighbours been arguing, really loud. I know they listen to their music loud, and although its pretty distressing, I can cope enough with it or retreat into my other room. However, for the last few months (I cant remember when the first 2 times were) I have heard really loud arguing. The first time I wasn't sure what to do, but after hearing loud thumps like furniture or something I called 999, and it calmed down. The second time it happened it was distressing me and causing me real phyiscal problems (dont want to go into too much detail here) so again called the police
Tonight, a friend was with me, and he was concerned enough so again we called the police. They came pretty quick, we could hear them. Then they rang me on my phone. It was explained to me that this guy was known to the police, they called round often, but there was no one else there and he was shouting at himself. In his attempts to reassure me he distressed me to the point that i dont feel safe in my flat anymore. Aparantly this guy has mental health problems, and was in regular contact with the mental health team, and had been assessed as ok to live in the community. I was welcome to call the crisis team myself, but acording to the police officer there was little they could do beyond that. I was also advised that if I was concerned at all about the loud noise to report it to the noise abatement team (which involves lots of form filling and not much action).
I am at a friends now, they were concerned enough about me staying there and I just want to leave and never go back at this point. I don't feel safe there, and thats no disrespect to my neighbour, but more about the lack of appropiate response from the police when I directly suggested the crisis team. Not only that, Im also concerend about how stable this guy truely is. Its scary to think hes only next door to me, and again not saying anything bad about people with mental health problems, I have enough of my own to be getting on with thanks, without having to worry about anyone elses. Surely I have just as much right to be safe in my own flat as he does to appropiate support and treatment etc. ?? What can I do, in the short term to feel safe, and in the long term. I dont want to leave my flat, I know I could end up somewhere worse, and I am really lucky to hae such a nice flat, but it needs to be safe. and thats just not safe...
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