diary of a schizophrenic

dad. can you please just listen to what i have to say. I don’t mean to attack you (and I’m sorry i got angry).

Will you please just listen.

__ I think the thing that happened with your boss has really messed you up. __ don’t get mad

The energy you we’re putting into your work and in having to deal with her has built up in you and when the cord was cut, i think things have gone a little haywire.

I don’t know how to say this easily.

if you think you need to talk to someone about what happened at work then maybe you should.

when they put me on meds __ they always said never cut the cord __ always move towards slow transitions

you have been through some very hard times of late.

i feel a lot of things happen under the surface __ and particularly when stress is involved i think it’s always hard to tell.

reply to this message, and please don’t try and be defensive. i have your best feelings at heart

the trouble with disability, welfare and the condems

I’ll get straight to the point. This coalition is missing one subtle but important factor that came into play until changes to housing benefit in London came into affect earlier this year. Disability and location.

It’s slightly difficult to explain, but what used to be available to those reliant indefinitely on benefits was the choice of where to live. This is clearly different to those who can or may work in the near future, because your not going to get yourself into a rent situation that you would not be able to maintain if your going to get a job sometime in the near future - rents in central London that could not realistically be met by a great many, should they take up full time work.

Disabled people, that may receive a little more in DLA each month, but effectively got the main subtle and indirect benefit of being able to choose where they would like to live (even if this meant living in central London).

What the previous Labour government did when making available central London properties to those on benefits was effectively to give disabled people the choice to live there should they wish.

I’ll say it one more time; your not going to get yourself into a rent situation you can’t afford if your likely to be finding full time work fairly soonish that would not support a central London rent rate.

Now the key to all this is what it means to be disabled. for me? disability means not being able to fully be everything you could have been or could be. and for me this is key. Disabled people could very well afford central London rates, were it not for their disability. The new housing benefit caps of £400 - £250, completely take this assumption away, bypass it completely.

What the previous Labour government did in maintaining mean values even for central London was to take a fair take on what it means to be disabled. As i say again if your going to venture into full time employment soon then your not going to bite of more than you can chew. But if your disabled, it’s a completely different kettle of fish.

Job seekers and the sick are not the same as the permanently disabled.

a couple more quotes about the situation in general:

“Housing benefit caps? They will make living here with anything other than super-secure employment (not many of us) very dangerous”

“In numerous ways London is becoming the domain of the rich and secure. And the suburbs will probably become hellish (like Paris).”

- @vornstyle (twitter)