A few days ago I contacted the Dorset Eye online who ran a story about a young woman named Helena who suffers from PTSD and other mental health issues and had been denied money to live because she hadn’t jumped through enough hoops – for those of you who have had to jump through government department hoops you know the score! She had decided she was going to kill herself and to save her daughter from being taken by social services she had sent her away. I was absolutely appalled by the insensitivity of the man dealing with her claim – only known as Steve, who when she told him of her plans to end her life merely said, “That’s up to you.” I wanted to send Helena some money to get her by at least for the time being and believe me it wouldn’t have been much as I don’t have much! Unfortunately Dorset Eye emailed me to say she couldn’t be contacted.
It got me thinking though. If those of us who have even a hot meal to spare, or a hot bath, some laundry facilities, or maybe some spare time for a chat and some company; if we all got together and formed some sort of alliance with our names and contact details available for anyone who needed instant and non judgmental help all around the country, wouldn’t that be a good thing? There would need to be some data base set up obviously and as I am no good with techy stuff some support would be essential. I spread the word on my facebook account around and the upshot is that a few friends and I started the facebook page One Square Meal. https://www.facebook.com/groups/274873452694040/
We don’t expect folks to go out of there way in order to be a port of call for someone in distress. Most of us are reliant on state benefits ourselves; we are either pensioners, unemployed, folk on limited incomes. But we are here and we are willing to help. There’s no welfare in this rotten country any more so we have to rely on each other. The powers that be want us dead so let’s disappoint them whilst giving them a lesson in how the least advantaged can at least strive to be the people we are supposed to be!
Rosie Hughes
