this week is the first time in my whole entire life I’ve lived from only a wage based income and not received income support from Centrelink - meaning this is also the first time I’ve ever lived above the poverty line with stability!

Poverty absolutely destroyed my life. I 100% attribute my anxiety disorder to the material conditions I grew up in e.g. often without a working fridge, oven, washing machine, hot water system

I absolutely did not pull myself up by the bootstraps (chronic illness + caring responsibilities make what makes considered ‘hard’ work impossible). I got lucky with employers who’ve supported me and community behind me

Not sure where I’m going with this thread but the shame of even talking about poverty is something I think I’ll be working through for the rest of my life. Constantly being criminalised and penalised by a punitive welfare system has been deeply traumatic

fuck rich people and also the middle class too for the pain and suffering they’ve inflicted upon poor people. as Tracy Chapman said, poor people gonna rise up and take what’s theirs!