Cameron Constituency Food Bank Faces Closure As Local Economy Stalls

exarmydreamer

Lieutenant Kieran McCrystal, 25, walked barefoot to Hillingdon foodbank after his life fell apart due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following his time serving in Afghanistan. Coming to the foodbank has turned his life around.
On leaving the army, Kieran struggled to find a job and was evicted from his house after spending his life savings on rent, too proud to claim benefits. A new father, his PTSD forced him to split with the mother of his child, whom he had been saving up to marry. After spending two weeks on the streets, Lieutenant McCrystal, decided that he had to turn his life around. He went to the YMCA who provided temporary accommodation, but Kieran still needed food and was pointed to Hillingdon foodbank in Uxbridge for help.
The foodbank highlighted his predicament through their local newspaper.
Within 24 hours, Lt McCrystal was placed in accommodation. Now all he is seeking to complete his turnaround, is a job.

True story copied from Trussell foodbank website.

exarmydreamer

A primary school boy from Gloucester stopped attending school recently because he could not face the embarrassment of having no money for lunch. On visiting his home to deliver a foodbank parcel, the school’s liaison officer discovered there was no food, except a little oats and milk. The mother’s purse was empty. The mother of two explained that her husband had left her and that the benefits were in his name. He had not been contributing towards child care since leaving and when she informed the Benefits Agency all benefits were stopped, including child benefit, because of her ‘change in circumstances’. The support worker estimated that it would take two to four months for the benefits to be re-assessed.
Officially, additional benefits like free school meals are not available to children unless parents can prove that they are in receipt of benefits. Fortunately, the foodbank was able to step in to help, enabling the boy to return to school.
Benefit delay and benefit re-assessment cause people across the UK to go hungry. Almost 40% of foodbank clients last year experienced benefit delay.

Another copied from Trussell site

exarmydreamer

When temperatures plummeted in January 2010 foodbank clients across the UK were forced to choose between eating and heating. For Anne-Marie and Danny, 22, a delay in benefits hit at the same time as Danny was off work with flu. He received no sick pay and finances got so tight that they were faced with eviction as well as having no money for food.
The couple and their 18-month-old daughter, Tia, were living and sleeping in one room to reduce heating bills. They resorted to borrowing a tin of soup from their neighbours to stop little Tia going hungry. When the foodbank delivered an emergency foodbox to the delighted family there was ice on the inside of their windows.

Plenty more to choose from, another from the Trussell food bank site.

RevolvingDoor

I don't know why anyone would dispute that there are people genuinely struggling financially at the moment because I know quite a few people who are and I don't see what that has to do with being left or right wing.

For the record I hate the Tories but I'm not making stories up to make the government seem worse.

Even if some people do waste their money and don't live as frugally as some people on here they still don't deserve to starve and I'm glad there are food banks that can provide them with food although I am ashamed that they are necessary in our country at all.

BobQ

GeorgeHowell wrote: »

The solution lies in reducing benefits to the bare minimum so there is no incentive to be on them. The deserving cases would remain to be helped. Those who found that they could no longer get their free booze, fags, scratchcards, Sky TV etc would either turn/revert to crime, and hopefully be thus dealt with, or would start trying to find ways to help themselves. I would have no problem with public money being spent on helping those who want to help themselves :- training, job creation/stimulus etc.

I agree that the long term unemployed need incentivising but one of the biggest incentives is for there to be jobs available for them to do and at present there are not that many, often a case of who you know rather than willingness. I accept that a minority never will take jobs and other measures are needed, but most unemployed people would rather work in my experience.

My problem with some of the arguments presented here is that they start off with the assumption that anyone who is unfortunate enough to need of any kind of benefit is a scrounger and I for one do not think this advances the argument at all to characterise people in this way.

BertieUK

BobQ wrote: »

My problem with some of the arguments presented here is that they start off with the assumption that anyone who is unfortunate enough to need of any kind of benefit is a scrounger and I for one do not think this advances the argument at all to characterise people in this way.

To be honest, this has always been the assumption of many of those so well off that they automatically think that everyone who seeks benefit is a 'scrounger' and many times to understand that many of these could be the unfortunate never enters their head.

Because many of them never knew what it was like to go hungry and wonder where the next loaf of bread was coming from, so in fairness how can we expect them to understand?

grizzly1911

GeorgeHowell wrote: »

The solution lies in reducing benefits to the bare minimum so there is no incentive to be on them. The deserving cases would remain to be helped.

Whether the left or right are in power I do not believe that the benefit system is engineered to over provide for the vast majority of cases. I do accept that there will be cases of benefit cheating and fraud, like their is in the tax system. it should be rooted out and dealt with.

It is a sad indictment of this country that whilst the benefits are considered an adequate minimum, by the state, it is more than 2 people earning the NMW, after allowing for cost or working expenses.

I also acknowledgement that there are a small number of claimants who have no intention of working.

I also accept that the way the system is assessed and managed could possibly done more efficiently. No doubt IDS Internet claims approach will make some big savings.

I am not convinced that motability is good use of public money for many cases but I am sure someone will give just examples.

The benefit system is a symptom of this countries illness it is not the cause. Dividing the country just helps divert attention.

Unemployment and poor job prospects are the issue.

No doubt a good dose of mass immigration will enhance our economic prosperity so all will soon be well. (Not aimed at you BTW).

BertieUK

grizzly1911 wrote: »

I also acknowledgement that there are a small number of claimants who have no intention of working.

No doubt a good dose of mass immigration will enhance our economic prosperity so all will soon be well. (Not aimed at you BTW).

In certain areas of our society it is known as 'lying in bed looking for work'

I have known, not personally, of couples having children in great numbers so that the mother, for example, can say that my husband cannot find a job that pays him more that the total we get in benefits.

So we are in a catch 22...

I would love to see mass immigration but while we have systems that can be abused, like I have quoted, they are not going to leave and go back to their own country.

grizzly1911

BertieUK wrote: »

In certain areas of our society it is known as 'lying in bed looking for work'

I have known, not personally, of couples having children in great numbers so that the mother, for example, can say that my husband cannot find a job that pays him more that the total we get in benefits.

So we are in a catch 22...

I would love to see mass immigration but while we have systems that can be abused, like I have quoted, they are not going to leave and go back to their own country.

Do the people we "know" form the majority or a minority, across society as whole? No doubt they tend to get concentrated in some areas for all sorts of reasons.

My last point was tongue in cheek, as apart from a relatively small number of necessary skills, we need it like a hole in the head at present IMO.

BertieUK

There are certain areas of the UK that have had these 'large families' for generations, just dependent on benefits, and I would not like to say which areas they are, but most of our big cities will have their quota.

There must be figures to substantiate the numbers that operate this system in society, but I do not think that it is a high percentage at this moment in time, but in my honest view it is certain to get much more common place within the next decade and beyond and we must generate a resolve.