Advocacy And I’ve Already Been Here 😂

First jobcentre appointment since February 2020…

It all feels like this time two years ago,
There’s a buzz of activity again,
Not necessarily forwards;

Kevin from Stepping Forward came with me,
We met outside early,
I filled him in on the whole housing crisis and court and law dealings;

I told him as we were waiting…
That just like two years ago, I have no expectations,
Whatever they’ll decide they’ll decide,
It’s all out of my hands!

My third new work coach was another woman,
And we explained my situation,
Got off on the right foot, again;

Only requirement was to update the journal with the various tasks I’m doing for my housing situation,
And just need to get the latest fit note from the Dr,
Now that I have time to think about it!

I was really pleased with Kevin’s efforts,
The whole meeting was really encouraging;

I say encouraging— all I mean by that is I’m feeling much less alone in my situation this week,
With the various meetings,
Much less alone in dealing with all of this stuff.

Kevin said exactly what I said on here yesterday—
There’s all these various groups helping me, or supposed to be helping me,
And not any clear initiative from any one of them!
Nothing actually gets done!

We also discussed the ridiculous cycle you can get stuck in without advocacy—
You can’t get suitable housing without PIP
You can’t get PIP without receiving ongoing mental health treatment
You can’t get mental health treatment because it doesn’t exist

You get deemed capable to work by Universal Credit
You can’t get Universal Credit if you’re not looking for work
Without Universal Credit you can’t pay rent.

Basically, the system is absolutely brutal if you’re somebody with invisible conditions or struggles,
And without the advocacy that’s where I’d be;
In fact that’s where I was in 2019 when living in my car.

So, in that sense,
Today was encouraging and morale-boosting!

🌪