Nanny State - i Wish!

It is a tricky subject, benefits. Firstly I am loathe to have to be on them and feel embarrassed, ashamed and guilty. Secondly, the government makes it harder and harder for disabled people to receive their benefits and easier and easier for the jobless to receive theirs.

Many sufferers of ME have been victims to cuts in their benefits this year. My mother had to take my case to an appeals court to battle to keep mine. When she got there, the judge told her the local council should be ashamed of themselves for what they were putting us through and that it was a disgrace how disabled people throughout England and Wales are being made to feel like they have no right to an independent life.

I work part time and have so many aims and goals for a career. I continually try to get closer to these dreams. It has taken me over 6 years to get a degree whilst working part time from home. I would not be able to work was I not able to do my job from bed at home as my job is an internet based role with very flexible working hours. If I didn't have this unique job, no other exists that I could undertake reliably. Some employers are being forced to be more understanding to disabled people's needs and charities like SCOPE are doing great work to spread awareness of how companies can be more diverse and accommodating, but despite this the unpredictability of ME makes working very difficult unless you work for yourself or a very small company. Full time is beyond reach for most patients and part time jobs that are not just casual work can be hard to find.

There is so much to say on this subject. so  much research, so many statistics.

I have to rely on my wonderful mother to help me with my benefits. I am too ill to sort them out myself. Every other month there is some sort of problem with my DLA *Disabled Living Allowance*. I am accused of supplying incorrect information, their calculations are often incorrect, getting council tax exemption is a minefield. It is degrading. I'm not work shy. I'm disabled. Some civil servant decided that claimants suffering from ME were probably all faking it - the clamp down on benefits for ME sufferers has been universally severe and unjust. In the act of taking benefits away from people with ME the government is sending out the message that the illness is not a real medical condition but that we are a group of people who just need a gentle 'nudge' in the right direction.

I live in constant gratitude for the work my Mum does to help me through this disease, but simultaneousy wish  deeply that she didn't have to do it