social cleansing

[lindylou]

What the hell is happening? I suffer from bipolar, osteoporosis, osteoporosis. I have been told that I am fit for work and put on jobseekerS ALLOWANCE. consequently i am going to be thrown out of my home because it has 2 bedrooms and i cannot afford to pay for the extra room. I have attempted suicide on 3 previous occasions i would like to apologise to this government that i did not succeed but i have a grandchild that i would dearly like to see. I apologise to all you tax payers out there who feel they are supporting me. I worked from the age of 15 - 34. My health stopped me from working further. I will not allow myself to be put to ground in an area that (a) i dont know and (b) i dont want to be. My two grandfathers fought hitler, now i feel i am being hounded like the jewish people were.

[TE44]

Its disgusting how this goverment are treating disabled people,

Lindylou, if you have just recieved this decision, you can appeal,

Do you have someone who can help you with this? On tht 17th january

32 backbenchers put forward there concerns about atos.You can read this

on blacktrianglecampaign.com, sorry cant put a link up just now.

Figures are given on how many people win there appeal. There is

also concerns put forward regarding mental health issues.

Its so unfair you are being put through this.

[polla2256]

Just say no, screw the government.

[tallulah71]

Beggars belief that people who are 'at home' (yet not through disability) are so busy! Feel for you...don't know what the answer is though...

[owlwise]

Definately put in an appeal straight away. Say you will represent yourself. Get on the phone to them first thing tomorrow to tell them that is what you are going to do so that they do not stop your benefits, then reply in writing, following the the instructions on your decision letter. Good luck.

[EDmummy]

Definitely get advice from the charity Mind as soon as you can. There is a 'perfect storm' being created by this narrowly focused government and unfortunately it sounds you are being battered from at least two I'll thought out policies. Please seek advice from Mind. Good luck!

[LadyDeliah]

This is happening at the same time as massive cuts to legal aid. If you contact a lawyer who deals with welfare benefits before the cuts come into force in April, you might be able to get funding to fight your case.

I know Glazer Delmar in North are very good and they used to have a Legal Aid franchise for immigration, but I don't know if they do welfare benefits. I'm sure if you contact them and they don't take welfare benefit cases, they will be able to refer you to someone good who does.

This is a very difficult thing to fight of you are bipolar, so getting a lawyer will make it much easier.

Good luck

[spark67]

This is hideous & follows a low key media campaign by the government to demonise ALL people on benefits so they can get public support for these ill thought out polices. I have a friend who is bipolar Who I used to work with who is desperate to work, but his illness prevents him but he still tries, & I lost a family member a few years ago to suicide through mental health issues who would have been affected by this if she was still around. For a Government to make light of a condition that makes it hard for people to function is just ridiculous in the 21st century.

I hope you find some help in the advice from the people that have posted above.

[astrid83]

Appeal the decision. I used to work as a mental health advocate in Bromley and there was a guy who worked together with Mind to help people with appeals. Don't think he covers Southwark but if you contact the local Mind they should be able to help you...

I know lots of people who have been judged wrongly as fit for work. You are not alone, try not to panic about it.

[DJKillaQueen]

Hi Lindylou.

You are not alone. ATOS fail everyone but the most obviously disabled. They can fail you because the assessment they give, and the scoring they use for answers to the questions they ask are designed to fail all but the most obviously disabled. ATOS are paid ?500 for every person they fail. If you appeal and win, they do not have to pay that ?500 back and worse still have called people back in for a new assessment within weeks of success at appeal, only to put them through the whole disgraceful process again.

You must put in an appeal right away, in order to continue your incapacity status benefits. You will though only be paid the base rate of ESA of ?71 (I think it's that amount) per week while your case awaits tribunal. If you win your appeal you will be paid all the benefit owed, backdated, but that of course doesn't help you to live on the reduced benefit whilst you wait for that process to go through (and it can take months).

The CAB are a good port of call for advice first. You could also ask your GP to refer you to one of the local community mental health teams (there's one based in Lordship Lane) and they will help you get this sorted out.

As Astrid says above, this is happening to lots of people. Do not panic. The governement have been told by many far better qualifed people than they, just how wrong this is and the impact it is having on people affected. The just don't care, and why should they? They want for nothing, and owe everything to the privileged upbringings they enjoyed.

[Earl Aelfheah]

This government's vilification of the most vulnerable is despicable.

[lindylou]

-- moved topic --

[Loz]

rahrahrah Wrote:

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> This government's vilification of the most vulnerable is despicable.

To be fair, ATOS were appointed by the last government...

[i*Rate]

Loz,

ATOS appointed by the last government - typical of many of the Right Wing ideas that New Labour came up with - no surprise there!

lindylou - good luck, there's a lot of folk out there wanting to help you.

[DaveR]

"now i feel i am being hounded like the jewish people were."

= lost any sympathy from me

[KidKruger]

DaveR: admittedly the OP is not about to be shaved then gassed and incinerated.

But the OP's feeling of being discriminated against and effectively forced-out of her (?) property is surely undeniable. The OP's analogy may not be perfect or appropriate, but not to the extent where she must be considered as deserving the situation the Govt has placed her under ?

[lindylou]

thank you all for your helpful advice. I am contacting Mind this morning and have also been put in touch with a Bipolar organisation. Will keep you posted. Thank you all once again. I feel stronger knowing that I can seek help which I didnt know I was able to.

[uncleglen]

Get in touch with these people they can send an adviser to your home

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200020/advice_services/2969/rightfully_yours/1

[DaveR]

"DaveR: admittedly the OP is not about to be shaved then gassed and incinerated.

But the OP's feeling of being discriminated against and effectively forced-out of her property is surely undeniable. The OP's analogy may not be perfect or appropriate, but not to the extent where she must be considered as deserving the situation the Govt has placed her under ?"

What the OP is actualy saying (explicitly) is:

"I will not allow myself to be put to ground in an area that (a) i dont know and (b) i dont want to be" i.e. I insist that the taxpayer continue to fund me living in the property I want, in the area I want. To compare that to genocide displays a pretty breathtaking lack of perspective, and in fact might be taken to be representative of an attitude to a beneifts system which tbh is unlikely to be supportable economically. I don't know the OP and it may very well be that she has been shamefully treated - but I'm not going to make that assumption automatically because of what 'the government is doing to disabled people'.

[El Pibe]

DAveR, I got into a bit of a tiz about the phrase 'social cleansing' in a thread a few years back, I feel your pain.

[uncleglen]

I know several people who have been 'assessed' by ATOS and it seems that if a disabled person (doctors' and surgeons' evidence fully up to date) can actually get to the appointment on public transport (allbeit that they may take 3 days to recover from the ordeal) then they will be put on JobSeeker's.

[Champ]

Why would a bipolar disorder or osteoporosis prevent someone from working? Undeniably there will be some occupations that won't be suitable but not all.

[PaulK]

DO some work all of you.

[TE44]

My nephew recieved an appeal decision accepting he

was to ill to work 2days after he died.

Personal experiences make it hard to not

see a system thats unfair.

[david_carnell]

Champ Wrote:

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> Why would a bipolar disorder or osteoporosis

> prevent someone from working? Undeniably there

> will be some occupations that won't be suitable

> but not all.

Can you think of a job suitable for someone suffering from severe depression and mania on a regular basis and high levels of physical pain upon movement? I'm struggling but I'm sure you can enlighten us.....