Well thats another week over. But upon leaving the office, I am left with the uncomfortable thought that a service user we were supporting throughout the day was feeling scared, vulnerable and didn't know what to do or where to go. Thats the hard thing about this job, there is only so much one can do. There are no magic wands!!
For the purpose of this blog lets call the service user Sophia. Sophia has 8 children in her care, ranging from 4 months to 14 years. She is a single parent and doesn't speak any English. Today her eviction notice found its final day and Sophia was extremely anxious about what to do next!! The problem is that Sophia does not have any recourse to public funds so therefore cannot claim benefits, get any social housing or get social care to help feed her children.
Sophia has been living off of child benefit and tax credits for the last 9 months and cant work due to the ages of her children. She came here as an ecomnomic migrant - in the governments eyes, but she was actually fleeing racial persecution from her country of origin. Sophia is of Roma descent - commonly referred to as a Gypsy.
Sophia has been unable to pay her rent, is not married and doesnt have a partner so the pressure on her is enormous. Her life here is far from perfect and she isnt pleased with the way her life has turned out her, but she finds it easier to endure than the racial attacks she was experiencing back home.
So I leave work today, pleased I am going to spend my weekend with my loved ones and feeling incredibly priveliged. But ultimately knowing that Sophia and her 8 children will be scared, alone and fearing that her landlord will turn up and forcibly remove her from her home. Despite this being illegal.
I wonder how many people are hidden away like this? I am sure I only get to see the tip of the iceberg. What will happen when the cuts come in?
What do you think?
2 comments:
I am scared about the cuts, and the team I work with at Framework are more concerned about what will happen to the most vulnerable in society that they work with every day than their own jobs. Some people have no family to turn to, or friends to help them out when things get desperate..they need organisation's that will support them, and actually treat them as a person..
Hi
Thanks for your post.
Absolutley I agree.
I have been overwhelmed by the commitment, enthusiasm and upbeat spirit my team are using to work with service users right now. Despite the fact that they are at best facing pay cuts if not at worst redundancy, they are unified and compassionate and working really hard to get people they help they need. I am very proud of them and thank them for their commitment.
However the real victims in this are the service users, they need our services and services like it to keep a roof over their heads, to keep them included in society and to not become less visible than they already are.
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