How can I help homeless people on the street?

FatVonD

Sarah_Harvey wrote: »

Not to be harsh here, but having recently found myself out of a job, I will gladly say that the benefits a government pays you is next to nothing. As a single person with no family or friends, it is probably the harshest thing I had to endure really. I can't say the same for parents claiming benefits, hence why I suspect so many girls under 20 end up falling pregnant in the UK.

Personally getting £65 a week to live on means I am scraping by. I don't get anything else. So take in account that I have to buy food, pay for traveling to interviews (sometimes up to 3 interviews a week), print elaborate 'applications' (yes! ...when I am forced to fill in 9-15 page applications for a job), pay for my printer's ink to print these applications out, pay for postage stamps and envelopes (A4 to A5 size for these massive 'applications'), pay my broadband bill and phone bill as sometimes applying for jobs require that I call them up to get the details (and I honestly have no friends or family, so I am not calling anyone else for that matter... my entire phone bill goes to searching for jobs).

Let's see what else... oh yes! Let's not forget my water charges, electricity and gas. Plus every second week it is a requirement to travel to the job centre to specifically state what jobs I have applied for and provide evidence or else I don't get my measly £65 a week.

Sure... people on benefits like me are getting so much money we can actually drink every day. Wow! I never thought of that actually.

Let's see... can I afford to drink? No. Can I afford to go out? No. Can I afford to buy clothes? No. Can I afford anything awesome like a Playstation or Wii for Christmas? No.

In actual fact looking at my circumstances, I just moved into a new flat, have a bed that I was lucky enough to buy from my last paycheck when I worked and nothing else. I can't afford carpets since the housing association ripped everything out and I can't even afford furniture.

Perhaps people are a bit misguided in what people on benefits get. I think someone could get by on £65 if they didn't do much and didn't eat, but spend it on drink. I think I heard that some people are doing that.

So what does it teach me? It pays to have a kid or two in tow to claim for them and then give them only the basics so that I can afford 'cool' stuff and hopefully have a partner that claim jobseekers also. Then we can have a party and afford all kinds of things.

Well to be fair I see these types of people at Cash Converters and wonder where they get the money to afford Playstations since I can't.

Sad state of affairs isn't it?

Sorry to hear you're having bad times and hope things improve in the New Year