New Deal: Not Interested.

AnxiousMum

nocareer wrote: »

Help Them?

It seems some folk have got the wrong end of the stick? I never said I was going on Work Placement to "Care For" the mentally ill.

A friend of mine was on placement in a charity shop and a Schizo began throttling an elderly woman volunteer for no reason.

These people should be on placements in psychiatric hospitals and the crims should be digging ditches in the countryside, not rubbing shoulders with me.

Right....'cos you are just so much better than them right? Not! I doubt that any dangerous criminals are out on these work placements - more likely criminals who haven't been convicted of anything of physical danger to anybody else. Someone on community service for unpaid fines can still get a CRB check and be cleared for working with vulnerable people you know. What they couldn't do, is claim benefits without adhering to the contract they sign up to in exchange for the money they get each week to house and feed themselves. Oh....same contract as you right? Wonder if they'd like working with you and your attitude towards those who are apparently 'beneath' you.

I'd sooner work with somebody who has had some trials in their life, has found a way to deal with them - such as someone who has/is a mental health patient, than someone such as yourself. Wonder if this attitude of superiority comes across in job interviews?

oldestrocker

paddedjohn wrote: »

Although i dont agree with people who claim benefits and then moan when they have to do something to earn them, i totally agree with oldestrocker. Offenders are placed on the 'naughty boy' chain gang as a punishment for their crimes against society, and rightly so, why should an innocent person be made to work alongside them.
I do volunteer work with the homeless and sometimes i feel uncomfortable around the ones who are clearly a bit unstable mentally, i also steer clear of drunks and drug users if possible, this does not make me an 'ist'.
WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO LIKE EVERYONE????

Hi, because mainly this country has gone PC bloody crazy.

Hug a Hoody was what one MP said. Don't punish a mugger - give him hug!!!

You can't say what you want without being criticized, you can't have an opinion about people, you can't describe people using words that were acceptable in the 60's & 70's.

Everybody is frightened about offending everybody else. !!!!!!!!!

Everybody MUST love everybody else.

Where the hell is this all going to end?

All the OP wants is to be allowed to say who he does and doesn't want to associate with.
You can call me racist, homophobic in fact anything - but I will not accept anything if I feel uncomfortable about it. I say it and yes I probably offend people in doing so.
Get over it - it's called life - hard and simple!

Thanks Padded John for making your point - we need more like you in this country!!

thistledome

OP, I went on one of these courses about 12 years ago and there were people from all walks of life there. There were some older people who'd been made redundant, 3 or 4 complete wasters who were professional benefit claimants and had done every course imaginable to avoid getting jobs, an ex-burglar complete with electronic tag and a few others who didn't share their history and kept pretty much to themselves. Maybe they are worse now, I wouldn't know - but it was OK and it led to a job for me.

We all got along fairly well on a superficial level, but there was no socialising like a normal workplace - we just came in, did what was required then left. Don't lose your benefit over it, just go.

Person_one

oldestrocker wrote: »

Hi, because mainly this country has gone PC bloody crazy.

Hug a Hoody was what one MP said. Don't punish a mugger - give him hug!!!

That was our delightful new prime minister Mr Cameron. Clearly the hug is just to get a better chance of nicking his wallet.

somethingsgottogive

This thread is just descending into chaos.

OP, it's understandable that you wouldn't want to go and sit in a room full of people banging their heads against the walls, hiding under tables muttering, stabbing each other with pens and shooting passers-bys from the windows - but you have to understand that while you may have heard a few horror stories about New Deal session, it's extremely unlikely to be anything like that.

You have every right to be anxious, even of people with MH issues if you've never knowingly been around said people, but the chances of ending up with a violent schizophrenic are not even worth worrying about - most of the people on JSA with MH issues are probably suffering from anxiety or mild depression or something equally non threatening to yourself.

I did the New Deal 4 week course about 6 years ago, in Middlesbrough. At the time I was a gothed up, pierced and blue haired 20 year old girl walking into a room full of 9-10 stereotypical track-suited, blinged up chavs, a few very northern 50ish men and a recovering alcoholic grandma. All we did was look though newspapers, apply for jobs and do some crappy American 'How to build confidence and feel just awesome about yourself' brainwashing, as well as cv building and all that jazz. It wasn't the most fun, downright boring most of the time, but everyone just got on with it without any problems. The forth week was a residential course - basically a paid 4 day holiday to go rock climbing, canoeing, abseiling, hiking and 100 other things for 'team building', followed by a night in the pub. Oh, and when I'd finished the 4 weeks, I got a place on an NVQ screenprinting course, earnt quite a bit of money and absolutley loved it.

I really think you should just try the first day, because there's no way you can know what group of people you'll be with, and there's no reason why you can't explain your thoughts to the staff and leave if there are any of the problems you're anticipating. If you don't even make an attempt, the Jobcentre will just lump you together with all the lazy scum and cut your benefits.

nocareer

somethingsgottogive wrote: »

I did the New Deal 4 week course about 6 years ago, in Middlesbrough. It wasn't the most fun, downright boring most of the time, but everyone just got on with it without any problems. The forth week was a residential course - basically a paid 4 day holiday to go rock climbing, canoeing, abseiling, hiking and 100 other things for 'team building', followed by a night in the pub. Oh, and when I'd finished the 4 weeks, I got a place on an NVQ screenprinting course, earnt quite a bit of money and absolutley loved it.

If you don't even make an attempt, the Jobcentre will just lump you together with all the lazy scum and cut your benefits.

Doesn't sound anything like the course they expect me to go on. You must have been on Flexible New Deal or something similiar for the 18-24 year olds. They expect me to go on work placement for 13 weeks solid, no other option is available. They are taking a harder line now.

Morgan_Ree

nocareer wrote: »

Doesn't sound anything like the course they expect me to go on. You must have been on Flexible New Deal or something similiar for the 18-24 year olds. They expect me to go on work placement for 13 weeks solid, no other option is available. They are taking a harder line now.

A whole 13 weeks?

God that does sounds like hard work......

debrag

oldestrocker wrote: »

Hi, What I think the OP is trying to say is that his views have to be respected as much as others views. You would not ask a person of Jewish faith to work in a bacon factory, nor would you ask a vegetarian to work in a slaughterhouse. So why is it wrong for him not to have to work with types of people that he finds difficult to get along with?

The same would be that I certainly wouldn't want to live in a mainly Asian area so I would not expect somebody to force me to work in one.

I would never want to work along side a German so why should I be made to?
I have an aversion to homosexuals, do you think it right that I be made to work in a gay bar?

Everybody has choices and these must be respected.

So if a German gets a job where you work you're going to leave? Same goes for a gay guy which is not always obvious

skcollobcat10

Loopy_Girl wrote: »

With all due respect....I wouldn't want to work with mentally ill people either. Not everyone can/wants to deal with MH patients particulary if the MH issue is severe.

Alot of people feel uncomfortable around mentally ill people.

Neither would I and I used to be a nursing sister, I can understand why the op does not want to do that type of work.

skcollobcat10

Two4Tuesday wrote: »

LOL. On my first day in the mental hospital, the oddest person there turned out to be a nurse :rotfl:

When I was doing my nurse training I worked in mental health for 6 months. I also couldn't tell the difference between the patients and the staff either:rotfl:!