Poverty, a thread.

Ending up on benefits isn't always as simple as losing your job. It can be the result of bereavement, illness, injury, or a breakdown in a relationship.

It's a culture shock. For me, one day I had a grand a week coming in. The next day I was applying for IS.

It took 14 weeks for my payments to come in. 14 weeks where I still had to pay the rent, pay bills, feed my child. You default on anything on a contract. Worry about it later. And you sell all your 'nice things' for pence, to keep a roof over your head.

Then the fridge breaks - or the cooker, or the washer - but you're still only getting your IS payment, not housing benefit or tax credits. It's different now, it's all UC - but that's harder, coz it's all rolled into one so you don't even get that small amount of IS.

With no other option (you can't get normal credit) you go to Brighthouse (or the current equivalent) or you get a loan from Deebank/Provident/Greenwoods. You pay 4x as much back in total, but it's only £5 per week.

Your credit rating gets worse because you've defaulted on all your 'luxuries' - contract phone, sky tv, landline phone. Debts become bailiffs knocking on your door, and if you hide from them long enough... county court judgements.

You're still trying to learn to rebudget on less than 30% of what you used to have. All whilst dealing with illness, bereavement, disability, or social workers on your case because you were a DV victim and the police involved them. You move house because you can't afford the rent

Then you're sanctioned. Because despite telling the job centre three times that you've moved, they sent your appointment letter to the wrong house. Or you were in hospital. Or your child was sick. You appeal, but they uphold the sanction. You try to rebudget again.

Your ex-partner decides they don't want to bother with the kids anymore. So they stop paying child support and disappear. The CSA/CMS 'can't find them' despite you providing their address and phone number. You try to rebudget it again.

If that doesn't make you think twice about judging people in poverty, consider going through that - which was my experience in 2009 - in the midst of a global pandemic, when there's no jobs, food has gone up 60% you're frightened to leave the house in case you get sick....

And the world and his wife are taking to social media to espouse how you're a shit parent and need your kids taken off you, because no matter how hard you try to explain that you're not a scrounger, they tell you that you should use your non-existant money to just make soup.