▼ Found 10 entries
9 Jun 2023
Q&A

Pippa G

What would like to say to MPs?

What evidence and lived experience have you more personally immersed your understanding, experience of the truth of poverty for the working general public and that who are trapped in the benign system as there's no support to become off benefits?

Have you been judging the public via fake narastic media stereotyping exposure to influence your policy's, aids and support framework?

It seem you have and how to do plan to fix the UKs and people in power judgment and stereotypical influence to better the support such as getting off benefits for single parents, people who need flexible working patterns throught the means of disability act inclusion and equity. We should not have to fight for our rights, be trapped in benefits when the people in power (you) say we can come off them thought the jobcentre framework that only fits for old fashioned stereotypical un-educated and possible neglected family's.

How do you plan to stop the increasing needs of unofficial food banks and offical food banks etc?

Where is your empathy and care for the wellbeing and future of the UK and the child of our next future UK?

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9 Jun 2023
Q&A

Millie G

What would like to say to MPs?

Where to begin really. I would like to see them walk a mile in my shoes. Just to see how hard it is sometimes, just keeping afloat. The squeeze just keeps getting tighter and tighter. Life feels hard and overwhelmed at times.

I would like them to see how it is.

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19 May 2023
Q&A

Evelyn D

Have you had any financial support from your local council?

Hi, thanks for the big question of the week. I wanted to answer this the other day, but it's been really busy. I managed to get some support with food vouchers, actually, or well, shopping vouchers, and they were really helpful just at a time where my son's growing and needs new shoes and so it took the pressure off the weekly shop, which is so expensive, and I was able to get some little treats as well. So that was really nice. I have tried getting help with a new boiler which is sort of partly funded by the LA, but unfortunately it just seems to be impossible to get any support with that. I find that the outreach workers who've come to see us or who I've spoken to are really nice and always really accommodating and they sort of make it clear that it should be relatively easy because of our situation to get support. So I've sort of found it to be quite helpful. And I'm doing some work with our council as well and know that they're really proactive in terms of getting warm spaces sorted, doing some anti poverty work. They're using lived experience as the baseline, really, for everything that they're doing. So I feel that we're really lucky that we do have a proactive council. We did miss out on some funding that which was really sad, but we're sort of struggling on and they're reaching out to partner agencies, so that feels really good.

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10 May 2023
Diary

Annie W

Life is pretty hard still. Feel like I am always saying the same things but I suppose this is reality. Things sometimes just don’t get better or take a long time to.

One good thing is my husband got a new job which could lead to a bright future.

The children are a huge handful and I do try get them into childminders but with cost it’s hard too. Especially with my twins as I’ve been told I wouldn’t be helped by any staff if I was to go to a free play group (midwife/health visitor said this). Plus nowhere is designed for people with more than one child at a time. The amount of times I have to push pushchair on road is unbelievable due to cars taking up path, can’t get in some shops due to door size.

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21 Jan 2023
Diary

Gabbie S

We've had another spell of very cold weather - a week of snow, ice & minus degree temperatures. No surprise there - it is winter after all. What is evident is how it is a struggle to be prepared for adverse weather events when you are on a low income. Firstly, even though I knew the cold spell was imminent, I couldn't afford to put fuel in my car because I had about £2.50 in my bank account at the time & "payday" - the day I receive a benefit payment was several days away. I couldn't put anything on my credit card because it had less than £100 available & pay at pump charges mean you need a minimum balance of £100 to have your card accepted. In short, I couldn't get to the shops & if I did, I didn't have enough to buy anything. Secondly, when payday arrived, the majority of the money was swallowed up by debt & bill repayments, leaving little left over to buy food. Once I had paid my bills & did some shopping, I didn't have enough money to bulk buy so I didn't have to leave the house, which is difficult for me at the best of time due to pain & fatigue. Similarly, I prefer to shop online & have it delivered - it is a life-changing adaptation for me, but more often than not I can't afford the delivery charges or minimum basket thresholds. I prefer to be organised when it comes to situations like this, but I just can't afford to do it anymore. I realise that i am fortunate compared to some as I am in receipt of all the tax credits & disability benefits to which I am entitled, but I've come to realise how much my PIP - Personal Independence Payment, is being subsumed into the household budget - I wouldn't be able to manage without it. But in the meantime, I have to go without the aids & adaptations & treatments that I need to make my life easier for which PIP is originally designed. It leaves you feeling very vulnerable to sudden life-shocks & is a constant source of worry.

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5 Jan 2023
Diary

Beverly W

Seems to be on trend that Sunak wants to fix the cost of living crisis & the NHS by improving adult numeracy. When you live on a low income the problem is that you're too scared to look at your bank balance! It's not that you don't understand it.

When you live life on a low income it's takes great courage to scrutinise your spending habits or check your finances. At times it's far easier to remain in the dark about what's going on in your bank account & just hope for the best. Obviously something he's never had to think about before.

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24 Dec 2022
Diary

Jen T

Well it’s Christmas eve, I have done my best. It’s freezing cold in the house and we are wrapped in blankets. First time ever I have been to the food bank and I’m having the heating on for 4 hours tomorrow. Even without, I’m going to make it a good day. What a horrible situation, never ever did I think I would reach this point.

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19 Dec 2022
Q&A

Evelyn D

How much do you try to shield your children from hardship?

Hi, I'm answering the big question of the week about hiding hardship from our children. And I think it was really touching to hear about how her daughter is adapted and how resilient she is now. Those are words that I would definitely use for my son. When he was younger, it was much easier to hide hardship from him. And at those times, I think those were some of our toughest times. Although right now is really difficult. One of the things that my son really misses out on, and really has missed out on for a long time, is holidays and breaks days away. Definitely, he wishes that he had more freedom to do things that cost money that I just don't have. I try really hard to go without, to sell things so that we can do things. So, for instance, last year I sold some furniture in order that we could go to Alton Towers for his birthday. There has been more than just poverty in our lives. We've had some quite significantly traumatic experiences. And I would say that I'm very, very proud of how my son handles things and how accustomed he is to dealing with hardship. I don't try and hide it from him now because the stress of doing that was really difficult. And I had to balance it with the reality because 'no' is a familiar word in our house, but I will go without a locked to make sure that he doesn't lose out too much. Take care. Thank you.

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10 Nov 2022
Q&A

Mandy W

Do free school meals make a difference?

Free school meals do make a difference to some degree. My youngest is in year 6 and at his school there is no choice menu so he has to eat what he is given. Sometimes there are things he doesn't like. He says the portion sizes in year 6 are no bigger than those provided to pupils in year 1, so often comes home hungry. The only alternative is to send him with a packed lunch, which ends up costing more than a school dinner would. My eldest is in secondary school but refuses to eat school meals. He is autistic and has lots of sensory issues when it comes to food. So I have to send him with a packed lunch every day. However, I am grateful for the free school meals.

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8 Nov 2022
Diary

Dotty R

I'm really passionate about making a difference and addressing child poverty. I earn what I think is a really good salary but I'm still classed as someone living in poverty and I still watch every penny. I have quite a bit of debt and I don't know how to get out the cycle.

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