Each week we publish blog posts on a whole range of topics, relating in some way to mental health — written by Mind staff, service users and health and policy professionals. Some blog posts may not reflect official Mind policy.
We welcome comments and questions on our posts, but have a few ground rules to keep the site welcoming and interesting to every body. The first rule is the most important: be respectful of other commenters and bloggers.
Kirsty has always worked, but when she was forced to leave her stressful job owing to mental health problems, she was shocked to find herself slipping below the poverty line.
I had a Saturday job from the age of 13, worked my way through my A-levels in retail, and then through my degree as an auxiliary nurse.
I love working and the opportunities for growth and making new friends that come with it and, despite my diagnosis of bipolar disorder and the difficulties that come with that, I’ve always maintained steady employment.
Unfortunately, in November last year I ended up having a manic episode, triggered by working long shifts and night shifts on a stressful hospital ward. I was told that I needed to leave my current job and find one with regular hours and much less stress if I wanted to stay out of hospital in the long term. I worked as a casual worker so wasn’t entitled to sick-pay and therefore had to claim benefits upon my discharge to the crisis team a month later.
Tears came when I was informed that, since I was under 25, claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA) entitled me to a paltry £53 a week to live off until I had been assessed (which takes at least three months). I was also having to use a credit card to pay my rent whilst housing benefit ask for everything but blood before paying out.
I was reduced to having to make decisions such as whether to pay my energy bill or have food for two weeks. I’ve become trapped in a catch-22 situation – the stress of having no money is impeding my recovery and return to work, but this stress can only be resolved by returning to work and earning.
Now almost £1,000 overdrawn and having spent £1,000 on my credit card to cover rent (I still haven’t had a decision from housing benefit, and I doubt they’ll refund the interest accrued on my credit card or the bank charges), I’m at the point where even though I’m not really well enough to return to work, I have to.
My point, and my reason for writing this blog, is this: whilst there may be individuals who try to abuse the system, the great majority of us who need to seek the State’s support are genuinely in need. The lack of financial support offered to those with mental health issues has meant that I’ve had to endure existence below the poverty line since leaving hospital, and this has definitely hindered my recovery and return to work – not quite the “living a life of luxury on benefits” nonsense that the media would have you believe.
Indeed, even I never really knew how low benefits were for individuals who cannot work until that paltry amount was staring me in the face. If the Government is so committed to supporting people back into work, then it should start by providing a liveable sum of money to claimants of ESA. Poverty is not conducive to good mental health, and so the stingy sum currently offered serves only to hinder individuals’ recovery and return to work.
Kirsty is a graduate who loves reading and making travel plans. She lives with her boyfriend and two cats.
Help us fight for fairer benefits – email or Tweet your MP with our easy-to-use form before Wednesday 01 February. Ask them to vote for a two-year limit on ESA instead of the 12 months that the Government is pushing for.
When M.A. lost her job in the financial sector in November of last year, she blamed herself and not the recession. Despite many years of commitment and loyalty, a near perfect attendance record, and a history of glowing performance reviews, M.A. felt as if she wasn’t good enough at her job to avoid redundancy.
5 CommentsRight, well this is my first venture into the blogosphere so be gentle with me, fellow bloggers.
Get involved: Do you know what to say if a candidate knocks on your door?After what seems like a lifetime of talk about elections, we are now only 10 weeks away from the general election, expected on Thursday 6 May 2010. To mark the final countdown Mind has launched our Do you Mind? general election campaign.
If opinion polls are to be believed, this election will be the tightest in recent memory. Last week polls put the Conservatives at a nine point advantage over Labour, but a recent poll over the weekend closed that gap to a mere two-point lead.
Over the past year, I’ve been in meetings with representatives from the three main political parties who have all agreed with Mind that mental health is on a tipping point which could see a permanent and lasting break through into mainstream public policy and politics. We’ve also had lots of nods of agreement about the need to make sure the lessons of the past recession are not repeated and we don’t see another generation consigned to the wasteland of long-term unemployment.
While these developments and nods of support are to be welcomed, now is the time for us to see the meat on the bone and for politicians and the plethora of candidates pounding the doorsteps up and down the country to essentially put their money where their mouths are.
With so many MPs standing down and marginal seats likely to change hands, this expected intake of new MPs will be huge. Rather like us campaigners, most people enter politics to change the world for the better – we simply choose different routes. We don't always agree, and it can take years and millions of people like you speaking up and making yourself heard. But when we do come to see eye to eye, those agreements can bring about real and lasting change to society and for individuals.
So when those candidates come knocking at your door, take the time to really press them about their own attitudes and views on mental health and what they will do to make a positive difference. Let’s make sure we elect a group of MPs who will lead the way in challenging stigmatising and discriminatory attitudes and behaviours to mental health, not add to them. It’s not much to ask for is it?
Novice blogger Vicki Nash is Mind's Head of Policy and Campaigns
6 CommentsToday the newspapers tell us it's the most depressing day of the year. If Blue Monday has you down, why not cheer yourself up by revisiting some of the key ways Mind campaigned to make a real difference to people over the past 12 months.
During Mind week in May we showed that men are much less likely than women to ask for help for their mental health, even though the experience depression and other symptoms just as frequently as women. As a result of the campaign, the Department of Health commissioned Mind, along with Men’s Health Forum, to write a paper on how mental health services, employers and community groups can better meet the needs of men.
Our Another assault campaign had a very successful year, starting in January when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was found to be in breach of the Human Rights Act after denying justice to a man with schizophrenia. Following the case, the House of Commons Justice Committee launched a stinging report highlighting the CPS’s poor treatment of victims and witnesses with mental health problems, largely based on Mind’s evidence to the Committee. The CPS responded with new policies and guidance (PDF) for prosecutors.
There was widespread concern that the Government was going to scrap Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA). Thanks to your support – our petition was signed by over 20,000 people – the Government announced in October that they would not scrap DLA for under 65s. We have continued to lobby MPs and Ministers of all parties on this issue, and the Conservatives have pledged in their draft manifesto to protect both DLA and AA, if they are elected.
The Welfare Reform Act (PDF) was passed by parliament in 2009. Mind opposed the legislation and faced a tough fight in Parliament, but we were pleased to secure some important safeguards (PDF) for people with mental health problems. Chief among these are that no one should be required to take mental health treatment in order to get a benefit, or be penalised if they are too distressed to comply with a requirement.
Mind has recently launched two reports on mental health provision for refugees and asylum seekers. The reports represent the culmination of two years’ work developing the capacity of refugee organisations to respond to mental health needs, and highlighting the negative impact of mental health policy for those responsible for commissioning services. The next phase will involve working more closely with service commissioners.
Our ongoing work on debt was recognised in November when Mind won RADAR’s ‘Doing money differently’ award. Our In the red campaign has raised awareness within Government and financial institutions of the circular relationship between debt and mental distress.
Mariam Kemple, Amy Whitelock and Marcel Vige, Mind Policy and Campaigns team
Start the discussionDebt, by its very nature, is stressful. You don’t have enough money for something, so you have to borrow some. You get into cyclical debt.
I know credit underpins our society and the modern economy, but there are a mind-boggling number of options out there and the number of newpaper articles and websites dedicated to giving people advice on how to juggle loans and credit cards clearly shows that we find credit a tricky area to navigate.
So imagine getting to the point where you have so many debts that they became unmanageable, that you just can’t make it all add up; that moment of realisation that the ends will not meet.
You receive your first red letter, a final demand, but you just don’t have the money, so maybe you tuck it away in a drawer. More red letters follow, they get tucked away, then a letter from the bailiffs. Why do they keep writing when you clearly don’t have the money?
Perhaps your creditor has sold your debt to a debt collection agency? How does that work? It soon becomes clear however when bailiffs start phoning, you now owe them the money. They call you, they write to you, they visit you, and they charge you for this ‘service’!
We have heard horror stories here at Mind about people being hounded by bailiffs who have called throughout the day, the evening and even on the weekend. Others report that when bailiffs come round they misrepresent their powers and are quite simply terrifying.
Recognising the connection between debt and mental health is not rocket science; money worries can both trigger and exacerbate mental distress. Last year at Mind we launched our In the red campaign and as part of this we’re calling for the regulation of bailiffs. The good news is there is movement on this front. The Government has committed to introducing independent regulation of the bailiff industry and is now taking this work forward.
But Mind still has concerns that the regulation may not be tough enough to stamp out bad practice.
The Ministry of Justice is handing regulation of the bailiff industry over to the Security Industry Association (SIA), the same body which keeps tabs on bouncers and wheel clampers. Mind is concerned that the SIA as it stands does not have sufficient powers to set rigorous standards, monitor compliance and take firm action against rogue bailiffs.
So what do we want? Well Mind is calling for the SIA to be granted new powers which would enable them to be the strong and proactive regulator (complete with teeth) which is needed for bailiffs. There also needs to be greater emphasis on mental health training and understanding within the debt collection industry.
Being in a situation of personal financial crisis can be devastatingly destructive to an individual’s mental health and sadly there have been many cases reported where a person has taken their own life because of their money problems.
The behaviour of debt collectors should not be allowed to compound a person’s distress, and we need the right regulation to protect the public from the tyrannical bullying which can potentially end in tragedy.
Mind is conducting a survey, which will inform our campaign, on the impact of contact with bailiffs on mental health. If you have had contact with bailiffs, please tell us about your experiences.
Vicki Prout, Mind media team
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