I am writing this to support “one month before heart break”
Many disabled people are worried just how they are going to manage with the loss of benefits this government are proposing. We have been label as benefit cheats and made to feel that we do not need the support to manage on ourselves without any financial help. My disability is getting hard to manage as I get older and I been told by many people that by working it’s causing my pain and increasing my problems with walking. I receive both higher rate DLA care and mobility but I am expected to have to work full time in order to provide for myself. Every employer I have worked for has refused to employ me full time on health and safety grounds as I really do struggle to walk and by falling over at work as much as I do as it causes risk issues to me and the people I work with. Yet the government feel this is acceptable for me to work full time in order for me to support myself.
There are many disabled people in the UK that will lose their wheelchairs if the government get their way and take away DLA from those in residential homes. This I know from personal experience. I currently am a community support social worker and some of the people I see live in residential homes and I would not be able to take them out into the community if they were to lose the wheelchair, I personally could not push them myself if they had to use a manual chair. It sickens me to feel so scared and worried not only for myself and how I would manage with happen to apply again for a different benefit, which providing the government gives us another benefit. I am also worried just how I going to support those I work for. I have done my best to work in my life and feel that I have been punished for trying so hard.
I grew up in a residential home and worked in a residential college as I could not cope with having to defend for myself without having people around me. But the government decided they wanted to stop funding for this and make disabled people live in isolation in their own homes but shutting down the residential centres. They are forcing those people who have to live in residential care to live in isolation also.
If you feel it’s wrong for the government to do this then please support one month before heart break by sharing this message.
Thank you,
MarkInSutton (audio version available at this link)
Originally posted as part of the One Month Before Heartbreak Campaign Jan, 2011
Well its day 2 of one month before heart break and I sit here trying to think how I can write this. Why is this a struggle for me I hear you ask. There is a number of reasons for this and some are easy to answer others are not so easy. What concerns me the most is not why I have struggle to get up this morning and have spent the whole day trying to recover from yesterday which to most people was just a normal day at work. What concerns me is people do not feel this campaign is important and us disabled people banging on about cuts that haven’t happen yet are not important. As one person put to me yesterday Mark, what you worried about the government haven't said they going to cut the DLA yet, have they? I felt like just giving up at that point. So we should just sit back and wait until it’s too late before campaigning? Do people not see how important DLA is to me and many disabled people and just want stress and worry this is causing us? Well, let me put you in the picture.
I thought for 3 years to get my DLA and got refused 3 times also. It took me to struggle to get home for Christmas in 2005 to see my family falling over getting off a bus breaking my leg leaving me with metal plates in my leg to support my weight just to get my DLA, I struggled all my life with my cerebral palsy I don’t ask for much I work as much as I can and am allowed by health and safety. I am constantly told that I can’t do stuff and being disabled to lead a normal life whatever normal is. DLA helps me do this as much as I can. Without it I may as well give up. I know one thing without it I wouldn’t be able to work at all. Why is this the case? The Car for one thing. Without my mobility car I couldn’t get to the local shops. I may only live a mile from the local shops and for most people walking this isn’t a problem but for me its next to impossible and would take me most the day just to try. There are many disabled people who do work and try their best to work full time. Many know me I really do struggle at work and bashing people over the head with legal rights is not always the best option. I realise that I have to accept my limitations but don’t take more away from me and other disabled people like me. My DLA means a lot to me and gives me some sort of life where I can go to work and do my part and pay my bills etc.
I don’t ask for much and I am always happy to help those in need I have 3 voluntary jobs also so I can help others. All I asking is for you to support out campaign and not to take DLA from 100s if not 1000s of disabled people who rely on that money just to lead a normal life. I would love to be able to write a massive long blog post at yet I not even managed to been able to cook myself anything to eat today so really do have to save the little energy I have to do that. Just please do pass this blog post on to everyone you know as we need to get this campaign recognised by the media. The threat is real don’t ignore it. People say to me the world would be a worse place without me being here by not supporting this campaign that just may happen as I just don’t know just how I going to manage without the little help I get at the moment.
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