Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Benefit cuts awareness session.







The cuts and changes to the benefits.

    My Sara Jane Gorman I'm a visiting Literature for the University Of Wolverhampton Walsall Campus. Back in February I raised awareness of the benefit cuts to the first year students, I have updated the powerpoint ready to raise awareness of the benefit cuts for last year’s 3rd year students when I go back to work after the summer holiday on September 3rd 2015 at the University of Wolverhampton Walsall campus. It’s down to me to raise this awareness so the students know as Learning Disability nurses what their patience’s could be going through.

Here are the handouts to the Benefit cut awareness power point on this website.

I am aware that nurses are not responsible with what happens in their patient’s life but a lot of things can cause a lot of stress their health such as to do with the benefit cuts.

 I understand a lot of services in Britain are under stress with cuts this, that and the other so you will only be able to do what you can do. I also understand that you have to go along with rules of management and laws; I understand there could be things I am teaching you may not be able to put into use. All the same don’t feel my time has been wasted as naturally I hope you don't have to find yourself dealing with patience’s in these serious situations but just in case you are asked by management if you know anything about the benefit cuts at least you will know. I feel all the same it’s my job to prepare you in case what I teach is to be allowed to be necessary. Whenever you get chance to go online just to see if things you have learned are still in date but bear in mind with some sites they can take ages to update them so if have time, it could be best make phones if you need to know if some important things still apply.



Risk of people been forced into things they can’t manage without support.
§     Many people have been forced into situations they cannot cope with without support due to the benefit cuts such as DWP and Altos signing them off fit for work.
§      I’m not saying people with disabilities and health problems can’t work but health, safety and support needs to be taken into account.
§     For example; you may have to write proof to reasons why a person can’t hold down a certain job without the right support.
§     With certain disabilities and health problems there are limits of jobs they can and can’t do, for example someone with Epilepsy; it’s a risk to let them climb ladders.
  • With the cuts the government have been making, a lot of people haven't been getting the support they need.
  • The benefit cuts are risks of injury and accidents at work if they are not supported.
  • Risks of as I said dying of hunger.
  • Some people may be stressed through the Anxiety and Depression of services not able to provide the help people need.
  • Gps only do so much or only allowance to do so much, which is hard to tell because most people have been weight for example and not been told what their weight is.
  • Some people might be underweight and others may be overweight.
  • Prices in shops need to be checked when it comes to healthy foods because people can be limited to what they can spend if they are on benefits or and if their job doesn't pay that well.
  • Risks of taking their own lives.
  • Risks of being in big debt.
  • Risks of people been more unwell.

 Although this is an old report when we had benefit changes back in 2011, now we are facing benefit changes again with the DLA changing to PIP, which most people could face from this year 2015 to I think 2018.

 No one gets told when this change is happening, DWP just sends people a letter out when it suits them.
 Each time people's’ benefits change or even get cut it gets more and more stressful for people and the government puts the stress on people who are less likely to cope without support.
 Now they are making it hard for people, they can’t have any family support.
I will be honest to say I don’t know anything about whether or not the benefits pay for the carers and or support worker so I don’t know what is what there. It may be an idea for you to look into this because you will never know whether you need to know or not.

People get questions on letter then they have to ring a number up that’s written on the letter.
Then people are sent for an assessment which could be for most people out of their way from where they live and most people may face transport problems.
If a friend or carer comes with them they have to wait in the waiting room, they are not allowed to come in the room with them.
This is something else that can cause a lot of stress on people's’ disabilities and health problems.
   
There are a lot of changes and cuts to the benefits in Britain.

·       The stresses of the changes are too much for people with disabilities and health problems.
·       This can make people worry.
·       This can make people ill.
·       This can even cause death, if it gets far too much for people.

 It is so wrong of the government to take money off people who need it most.

 No one wishes anyone to be homeless. People with disabilities find it hard to look after ourselves more than other people.

 Back in 2011, I had got a letter off the Benefit office about my Incapacity benefit changing to Employment and Support Allowance.
The letter wasn't very clear to read.


DWP should not send out unexpected letters or give people unexpected call, the Job centre staff make people aware of the changes face to face in the Job centre.

 We could get a call or and letter any time to tell us our benefits have changed.
 Changes may happen to a lot of people in days, months and or years.
For other people changes could happen as soon as tomorrow.
The fact that no one knows when it’s time for their benefits this is what cause people a lot of stress when the unexpected happens.
 Information needs to be made clearer.
As the government is trying save as much money as possible the Job centres have to cut or and stop people money whether there’s a reason or but then it happens to some people not others. Nobody knows why they only cut or and stop only certain people's’ money.
   
What time?

It is hard to plan our support when we don't know when they are going to call, we need plenty of notice.

 We could get a call or and letter any time to tell us our benefits have changed.

It is hard to plan our support when we don't know when they are going to call.

If people are expected to work, they can't be expected to be sitting at home waiting for the Job Centre to call.  
The cuts and changes to the benefits.

  There are a lot of changes and cuts to the benefits in Britain.

 The stresses of the changes are too much for people with disabilities and health problems.
·       This can make people worry.
·       This can make people ill.
·       This can even cause death, if it gets far too much for people.

 It is so wrong of the government to take money off people who need it most.

 No one wishes anyone to be homeless. People with disabilities find it hard to look after ourselves more than other people.






 Back in 2011, I had got a letter off the Benefit office about my Incapacity benefit changing to Employment and Support Allowance.

The letter wasn't very clear and easy to read.


DWP should not send out unexpected letters or give people unexpected call, the Job centre staff should make people aware of the changes face to face in the Job centre.

 We could get a call or and letter any time to tell us our benefits have changed.
Days, months and years need to be made out clearer to when the Job centre wants us in to tell us about the benefit changes.


It is hard to plan our support when we don't know when they are going to call, we need plenty of notice.

 We could get a call or and letter any time to tell us our benefits have changed.

It is hard to plan our support when we don't know when they are going to call.

If people are expected to work, they can't be expected to be sitting at home waiting for the Job Centre to call. 

Benefit Cut awareness update.

This is a message to the Student Learning Disability nurses and trained Learning Disability nurses.
Stress is a risk of a killer for all people not just people with disabilities and health problems.
As you all may be aware since David Cameron has been in power there have been more people with disabilities and health problems lose their benefits than ever before. This may seem strange to hear, the stress people have been having going through has affected peoples’ health as far Anxiety, depression, epilepsy, even such health problems as diabetes, asthma and etc is curtained. Most people have even died. Last year alone Britain lost 10’6000 people with disabilities and health problems. Let’s do our best to prevent this stress for people as much as possible by signing the petition or and sharing the link http://www.change.org/p/3200011?recruiter=85458926&utm_campaign=signature_receipt_fb_dialog&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&fb_ref=Default


 If you work for any service, company, group, organisation to do with learning disability and mental health I would be most grateful if as many of you as possible team up together. This could well be the same for people with disabilities and health problems as well. Many people like me with disabilities and health problems are also Advocates; Learning Disability and Mental Awareness trainers may be people like us could team up together with profession.  
We need to be awareness that there are people on benefits who don't have disabilities and health problems who don't like working who should be but it's not in everyone. People who are in that situation are making it hard for those with disabilities and health problems http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/benefits-mum-cheryl-prudham-baby-5966870?ICID=FB_mirror_main

Stress of benefit cuts.
·       People with disabilities and health problems are more sensitive to stress than other people due to our disabilities and health problems.
·       If people have their benefits cuts they won’t have access to counselling because there will be money to pay for it without benefits.
·       People who have their benefits cut are in risk of hunger and or debt.
·       People worry about owing money which can push them to end their lives.
·       So many people have overdosed.
·       Not everyone who has their benefits cut or stopped has a negative ending. ·    
·       Winning appeals doesn’t necessary they are going to be better off than before they lost their benefits?
·       People may worry that they may not have enough money back to pay what they may owe.
·       This is where they are in risk of going hungry and homeless.
§      People can’t affront to live when they have lost their benefits for example paying bills, eating, rent, they may end up homeless and or etc.
§      People who have their benefits stopped are in risk of going hungry or and going into debt.
§      People worry about owing people money.

STRESSES ON PEOPLE'S HEALTH.

§     Due to peoples’ health problems Stress push them into taking their own lives if life gets too much for them. 
§      Stress can mostly affect those who have such health problems like Anxiety, Depression, Epilepsy, Asthma, diabetes,    and etc.
§      Many people have taken overdoses.
§       Many have taken and lost their own lives.

Awareness of learning disabilities and Mental health awareness cuts.
        This is an update of the Benefits cuts awareness presentation.
        Lives of vulnerable peoples matters as much as yours.
        As you know stress is the biggest killer of all but if you are a vulnerable person, you can't cope with it as much as other people.
        What professions need to be aware of is that 10’600 people with disabilities and health problems died last year due to the benefit cuts.
         I was only aware the figures on Sunday 29th March 2015.

§     People are finding it hard to affront living experiences.
§     Many people have lost their lives through eating very little nothing at all.




 How long?
        Appeals could take up to a year or two.
        If you have access online a lot please check when you can to see if anything I have made you aware of has change, if to see if anything has been replaced whatever.
        Some people have said that the government have said they are thinking about stopping appeals, it may or may not be true, they may have stopped them now or will be in the future so try to keep up with what’s going on as much as you can.
        Most people take longer.
        Some take longer than others.

The wait depends on.
        Peoples’ issues
        On people’s Disabilities and Health Problems.

The waiting time is a big risk to people's’ health.
        People with disabilities and health problems are more sensitive than other people.
        People worry about owing to people and services money.
        These worries and stresses put people at risk of taking their own lives.
        Most people have taken overdoses.
        Just to let you know that there are some people who do pull through.
        Not all GPs can check peoples’ health while people are waiting for their appeal.
http://www.gponline.com/health-checks-adults-learning-disability/article/1057174
http://bit.ly/1JAzLH0

         People should have their health checks even more so while going through appeals but there’s not always the funding and time according to the system.
        People are in risk of being more stressed hungry or and going into debt.
        The food banks can only give people so much food.
        A lot of people feel embarrassed by having to have free food.
        Most people live on their own and they have very little support even harder if their benefits are cut or and stopped.
        People are in risk of losing their homes while their benefits are cut or stopped.
        The government has been known to cut and stop people's’ money with or without a reason just to save money.




        Altos and DWP have signed people off fit for work when people haven’t been fit for work and also without support.
        Just to let you know that not all people lose their lives over this.
        As strange it sounds most people lose their lives because the stress is just far too much.
.  Anxiety and Depression is more of serious health problems than that what it looks like and the stress of everyday life is to blame for it.

Today.

        Here’s my website address to study the handouts to today’s session or and anything else you may find useful to learn off my website sararevealed.blogspot.com/
        Here is my email address sarajgorman@gmail.com
        ATOS KILLERS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3mGZZ4TmEGA
        Please tell me at least three things you have learned to today or email me to feedback.
        Please enjoy any other session you may have today.
        Please have a safe journey home.
        Bye for now.

https://thepoorsideoflife.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/being-made-homeless-the-next-day-the-universal-credit-victims-and-why-do-they-keep-stopping-my-money-amongst-other-happenings-at-the-jobcentre/




 Feedback from last year’s first year on the benefit cuts awareness session.
I am a trainee visiting literature so I can learn off the students what they want to learn and how they want me to teach them as much as they learn of me. 

I really emphasised with what Sara was saying.  I could see that the benefit system doesn’t seem to understand nor care about people with LD.

It was good that Sara highlighted the emotional, physical and psychological problems facing people with LD. It is bad that the Government, who are meant to be looking after the people, have put laws and systems in place that leave people with LD in such distress.

People with LD can experience anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, illness, lose their homes, be without money for long periods of time, due to their benefits being stopped or assessed. 

It was good that Sara highlighted the emotional, physical and psychological problems facing people with LD. It is bad that the Government, who are meant to be looking after the people, have put laws and systems in place that leave people with LD in such distress.

People with LD can experience anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, illness, lose their homes, be without money for long periods of time, due to their benefits being stopped or assessed. 

People with LD need as much help as possible when it comes to benefits. And as future LD nurses, we will be aware of their plight and in a position to help with applications, as advocates, and with calming their fears.

At this particular moment in time it is all about awareness, understanding, and empathy.  If a LD nurse is aware of the issues then we will be in a better position to help people with LD who is in this situation.

  Feedback from the session I did for the students a couple of Thursdays ago.
2nd year Student's feedback from the Benefit cuts awareness session Monday 11th May 2015 University Of Wolverhampton Walsall Campus.
Benefit cuts:
·         Services cuts / already some services are closed
·         Limited / no respite services for families
·         Increased crime figures due to cuts?
·         Lack of support in the home people are just left to cope alone because of lack of funding
·         Mental health problems increasing
·         Isolation / decreased socialisation lack of activities
·         Increased immobility = health issues
·         Government plans to be aware of these so as to help service users
·         Community after hospitals closed but there is ever decreasing support available
·         Increased likelihood of not getting roles due to CV changes or limited chances
·         Job centres not always in line with work areas – availability of posts etc
·         Increase in homelessness
·         Poverty
·         Suitable job – not just any job
·         Direct payments = effects on people
·         Abuse of the vulnerable
·         Increase in protests / strikes?

Feedback on the benefit cuts awareness session from last year’s 3rd year.

I am glad you enjoyed the presentation; my confidence and presentation content those of you who were in my session.
I am glad you have learned how to help people who have had their benefits cut.
Yes this topic is your role when it comes to looking out for your patient’s health.
Sara’s feedback: I am very happy that you’re happy with with my feedback. I have learned as much from the students as they do from me.
 Each session I do I will learn better for the next time I do a session? I feel I remembered to explain more what a student job role is this time than I did last time. The role of a learning disability nurse is looking for the health of learning disabilities and health problems. The state of the system with services going through cuts and benefit cut is a huge risk to the health of patients.
The changes that need to be made are that the health needs of people with disabilities and health problems need to be take care of to save lives. People with disabilities and health problems are human just like other people so do their lives matter just like other peoples.
I am glad you have learned about the insight of the benefit cuts and how they affect people with a learning disability.

How the benefit cuts can affect all people.
Sara’s feedback is.  This question important question but a hard question really. The amount of people on the benefit system is very high. A lot of people are on there for different reason most reasons are not good enough to be on benefits. For example people who don’t want to work but they just have a lot of children for the government keep them. Even most people are pretending they have disabilities and health problems but they haven’t so they don’t have work. Even those can’t seem to find a job but they have tried for a lot of years yet some have never done a hard day’s work in their lives. The answer to this question is yes and no because people’s reasons are good enough to be on the benefit system in the first place others are not. For someone who can work who doesn’t want to it would be a huge affect for them because they don’t want to work whereas most people who do want to work possibly spend years looking for work.

I am glad you enjoyed the discussion and benefit into people with a learning disability.
Sara’s feedback is how could I improve my session?
Please say a bit more on what you enjoyed my session!
Please read more on the handouts on my website sararevealed.blogspot.com/ and give me some feedback on sarajgorman@gmail.com thank you.
  
I am glad you enjoyed listening to my PowerPoint.
They thought it had an insight about the effects of benefits.
They want to learn more about how the benefit cuts affects people with disabilities and health problems.

Sara’s feedback: please learn more my website sararevealed.blogspot.com/ feedback to me sarajgorman@gmail.com thank you.
There are many sites you can go on that you can learn about what people go through they have their benefits cut or stopped.
The kind of benefits there are, how they are, how much money they pay and the rules people have to go along when being on these benefits.
How it affects people with disabilities and health problems face through the benefit cut pretty like I said on the PowerPoint.
·       No money or should I say very little money!
·       Worrying what’s going to happen one minute to the next let alone one day or week to the next. (Anxiety). For example worrying about owing money.
·       Risk of people taking their own lives. (Depression).
·       They don’t like depending on food banks so they can feed themselves plus food banks can only give so much.
·       Losing weight.
·       Even risk of getting into debt even if for example they paid their bills and buy food.
·       Most people may not be able affront to buy healthy food depending the shops by them, whether or not they get support to travel to shop if they only can get healthy food further afield.
·       It could also depend whether or not their disabilities and health problems prevent from travelling without support.
·       One thing I even forgot to say even on my website is, if their benefits are cut they only get their DLA or PIP once a month which pays for shopping and bills but doesn’t necessary last that long.
·       Most benefits may pay for a carer or and support worker others may not.   https://www.gov.uk/dla-disability-living-allowance-benefit/overview
·       Risk of people going hungry or in debt.
Risk of people being from service to service with no help prevented can be a huge affects on their health with Anxiety and Depression.
 Thank you so much for your great feedback I’m so glad you enjoyed listening to my information. I am just so sorry about the limit of time so yes please look at my website to learn more thank so much for taking time to be in my session and I thank you everyone as well for your patient's  in yesterday’s class.

 The risk can be with most people there doesn’t seem to be very clear information people with disabilities and health to when they have go through when they are going through benefit change. For example: DLA changing to PIP some people have gone through it others haven’t. Most people worry like myself for example when am I going to get this over and done with? Benefit letters don’t seem to be very clear and there’s far too much information in those letters for a lot people with disabilities and health problems to read and understand. Due to the cuts now very few people have carers and support workers plus everyone’s family can be different so there are worries that nothing has been done if people with disabilities and health problems can’t support read and understand the letters, the worry is for some people things can get left alone time before anyone sees the letters.  



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