I've been on two work-related train trips in the past week, both of which gave me a much-needed sense of adventure and freedom. I’ve always felt “like a grown up” when I commute by train and treat myself to a takeaway cuppa.

But I’m feeling incredibly fortunate that I don’t have to do this regularly now that I have a part-time job in the town I live.

I went back to work when my son was five months old. His father wasn’t able to work so I was the breadwinner, and worked peripatetically, travelling to schools across a large area and earning a reasonable salary. I loved my job but the travelling was exhausting, as was the increasingly unhealthy relationship and the sense of dread I felt arriving home later than promised due to a missed connection, knowing the silent treatment I’d be met by.

When I separated from my son’s dad we moved back to my hometown where public transport provision is much poorer. During Covid I was able to work remotely until being made redundant, and after that it was incredibly hard to find a job that would accept the restrictions that solo parenting a small human puts on you. I had to leave two jobs because of their refusal to make accommodations around this and the impact on my mental health.

I now work part-time and locally for a much lower wage but I don’t have to send my child to breakfast club and can walk him to school every day.

I’m definitely no longer the young professional grabbing a takeaway coffee en route to an “Away Day” in London. But I’m not sure I miss her all that much.

It's hard to stay cheerful or optimistic about the future when the news is full of click bait about benefit reforms, hating on disabled folk and hatred to the poor. Feels like things are slipping backwards not forwards and doesn't feel as safe as it used to to go out n about. I'm more likely to be refused disability aid in public, like drivers lowering buses or disability doors working, and it feels targeted. I know it's not targeted at me specifically but at people like me, anyone with invisible disabilities especially, the general public isn't consciously turning against us but if the gov won't support us why should they feel that have too, why prioritise fixing a door or lowing a bus if the gov doesn't think disabilities like mine are real anyway, they're just being lazy anyway. Turn us against each other so we don't turn against the gov, typical political strategy, it vexes me that with all the access to knowledge and information how easily the masses are manipulated and controlled still.

It means a lot to have a job. Then we will be free from financial problems. Helping single parents also can't wait.

Half term is a nightmare this year. I’ve had an 11th birthday before Christmas, then Christmas, and then a 16th birthday and now half-term. It’s so expensive. Please HELP.

We need to care for ourselves and look out for ourselves. Quite often, when we do this kind of work, sharing our stories and using our real lived experiences to support and help others, we neglect ourselves. Self-care is so important in this line of work and we need to value ourselves.

It would help reduce costs of families - making housing more affordable, supporting parents with essentials such as school uniforms, food, and other basic necessities, and boosting the wages of parents. There would need to be clear targets set and not just vague support. Also, not one-time support, but continuous as the child grows.

Hey there.

To help parents so that they can take care of the children - the only way to help the children.

A successful child poverty strategy would mean the children of the people you are directing this question at - the poorest in society - have the same opportunities, the same level of security, the same educational outcomes, the same life expectancy, the same career paths, the same access to all health care, and the same likelihood of becoming an MP as the children of the people asking these questions (the top 10%).

All the stuff in the news about bank checks and fraud crackdowns and such - it makes me anxious. I know it's largely due to how they're rewritten, they're intended to be fear-provoking, to make the news folk money. Clickbait. Rage bait. Lies and confusion and control. But it's something else too, something I can't quite formulate into words. I can try, but no matter how many times, I write it down it doesn't full convey the anxiety policies, and especially practices, like this invoke.

I keep reassuring myself that I've nothing to be anxious about, as I know I'm not fraudulent or committing any crimes of any kind. Yet, knowing this doesn't help the anxiety, doesn't reassure, doesn't give comfort. It's another slap in the face, another reminder of how unvalued we are, how hated we are. Another small attack on our rights and supposed legal protections. An assumption of criminality without just cause, or rather, the "just cause" is a mindset of "poverty is a crime".

And it makes me fearful cos I've learnt over the years that when you're on benefits you have very few legal protections. Technically everyone has rights, it's written in law. But realistically, day to day, the less money, the less connections, the less value you have the less likely you are for those rights to be respected, let alone enforced. From council homes being technically unsafe to live in but not fixed or made liveable. Of police refusing to follow through on crimes cos the perpetrator has funds and we don't, so justice isn't available as readily to us, yet we're disproportionately punished when someone at the bottom of the social totem pole does commit a crime, and that's used to further justify eroding our rights even more. Government agencies and/or public figures (from social workers, to doctors, to work coaches, police, family courts, criminal courts, landlords, etc.) frequently lie or make life harder, either cos they're too overwhelmed and undertrained to provide the service required, or (in the case of a supposed minority but yet I've never met someone on benefits who hasn't had this experience atleast once, often multiple tims, in each field of "support" or "aid" they're supposed to be legally entitled too as a Brit) they actively enjoy playing with peoples lives. We're easy targets for folk like that, because we've no legal recourse to defend ourselves, as we've no money for lawyers or courts, etc. If we do complain, it's often our words against there's, regardless of what evidence we have, and our word isn't valued as equally as their, so nothing happens and they get away with abusing our rights time n again. I found out years later, after I complained about a doctor, that he put in my medical records suspected Munchausen, that I'm challenging and possibly hypochondriac - which added years to getting diagnosis for my disabilities - and no justice. Doctors since then have written notes that I'm not what was claimed by the other doctor, but it's still on my medical records and still there for drs to use as an excuse to deny due diligence and fair care.

So for your own government to say "sure we'll stop you from starving, just about, but well treat you like potential criminal the whole time and shame you for the life of relatively poverty you've have little control over, largely due to decades of government policies and cuts" is like kicking a dog when its already down, beaten, broken, and tired. Heck, I'm starting to wonder if dogs have more rights than we do these days. If someone abused a dog there are charities in place that will fight for that dog's rights in court. No one is fighting for our rights, rights to basic dignity and fair treatment. Even with courts saying the govs planned cuts to disability benefits is unlawful the gov still plans to go ahead with them. If that isn't proof of how vulnerable we are, that government can ignore their own laws when it suits them, I don't know what is.

Can people truly not see what a dangerous trajectory were all on, the slippery slope ahead? Instead we're just get told "beggars can't be choosers" and "you've nothing to fear if you're not doing anything wrong" which completely misses the point. First, they go for the vulnerable, then the working poor, then the middle classes, etc. that's when the general public will start caring and by then it'll be too late.

How can we have a cess to so much information, so much knowledge, and still being so gullible and ignorant to the harm being done to the most vulnerable in society. It's more than just scary. And even with all I've just said I don't feel I'm fully conveying the problem at hand, not enough that I'd expect anyone to read this and go "yeah that's fucked up, let's do something about this" cos we're all kept too busy by work or bills or pressures or responsibilities or stress to have time to fix problems that aren't impacting the "valued" within society yet. And like I said, by the time this impacts them it'll be too late. I hope for positive change, but things seem bleaker than ever.

Today has been a tough day for us. We did not have enough essentials and nappies.

Hi everyone. The team is really doing a great job, and we are appreciating the vouchers so much. They really help us a lot with groceries and baby items.

I believe that "unity is strength". If we work together, we able to change anything in our society. When we communicate with others, everyone can share there own opinions. In that case, we can make any decision easily.