Food Parcels - Helping The Needy

I have been at work all day so not much smallholding work has happened today.

I did let the animals out this morning and fed and watered them before work and then tonight they have been put to bed.

I really love my job and I am not sure when I would ever be able to give it up - I just love helping people and my job allows me to do that.

I help people with benefits and debt and one of my jobs is to assess people for food parcels and help with gas and electricity.

I know food parcels are a hot subject at the moment so thought I would share my views on them.

Up until last April if people did not get their benefits paid on time or they were waiting for a new claim or some other crisis had happened people could apply for a crisis loan. This was a small amount of money to see them through until they received their benefit entitlement which had to be paid back - this was done by weekly deductions until it had all been paid back.

Crisis loans and budgeting loans (to help people buy furniture or pay essential travel costs) cost the Government approx £178million per year.

In April 2013 they were abolished and county councils were given a pot of money for them to spend to help people in hardship - this pot of money was not ring fenced and could be spent on what the county council wanted. Of course the amount given out to councils was much less than the Government had been spending.

County councils did not want the administration costs of a scheme - lets not forget that the £178million would be paid back over time so the pot was always being filled - so a lot of them give people what they need as grants so eventually the pot will be empty and then it is up to each county council to fund this out of their own pocket.

County councils do not give money and instead give food parcels - this is why there has been a rise because everyone who needs food has a food parcel whereas under the old scheme they were given money and spent that money in the supermarket (we hope) and never went near a food bank.

Of course there will be people who abuse the system but in the year it has been running in Suffolk it has only been abused a handful of times, nobody likes to come with the begging bowl to ask for a handout but what other choice do they have.

The Government is setting people up to fail - take my client today.
He was released from prison last week with no benefits or accomodation - he has a number of medical conditions which require medication and has addictions. So what better way to help him than just release him on to the streets with the only way of surviving being crime.
He has now been housed in a hostel but until his benefits are sorted what will he live on, in the past he would have had a crisis loan but now they don't exist I have got him a food parcel.
He has tried to claim benefits but the Jobcentre have hindered him, surely if you don't have a phone or computer this is the place to go to claim benefits. No you are wrong, the phones are now only for people with a query on an exisiting claim or to chase a new claim but not to make a new claim!!!
So how does someone make a new claim?
I have to agree with the client, the more they fob him off the longer he has no benefits and it is one less person on the stats.
I will be seeing him again tomorrow to help him claim the right benefits but what if he didn't have this support??

This is why I love my job, I know I can make a difference to people and as I know the benefits system inside out I can help people who would otherwise be stranded.

I see this kind of story so often and the majority of people who need help with food are in this situation because of a benefit issue caused by the DWP.

Don't even get me started on sanctions!!