6yrs on benefit :(

[fife_girl]

helping people is really cool

professional drummer - wow!
It would probably be done via online, or could you do live gigs too?
Some people give online lessons too... You could see what exists already and maybe if there's a niche for you? (You're very goodlooking and a woman, so that's already a plus..!!)

Lots of opportunities to help people, either as a job or volunteering or both..
Maybe just write down in what ways you'd like to help people best? And with what, which people etc?

id LOVE to do a live gig but thats also a worst nightmare lol

Id like to help people with mental health problems, maybe in the future i could go to college or uni.... cant really see that ever happening tho

 

[Feathers]

hey there feathers. It would be my pleasure to answer that question for you. They were both charity shops and non profit organizations. I worked with people and I worked alone. The non profit organizations I worked for consisted of caring for the mentally handicapped in their own homes. Hey, a job is a job. If I got offered a job for guerilla gardening and got paid for it, I would take it. I think the only job I would have trouble with is being a stripper. ::

Hey Brooklynn, thanks! Can you tell, what were some of the problems/challenges in the charity shops? We are thinking of maybe starting them here, and would like to know as much as possible.. to deal with any problems beforehand, before they become problems.. (Maybe in PM, if you don't want to go public with it, in case some old or future bosses might read this..)

And caring for the mentally handicapped - wow! Were you like a live-in volunteer, but paid? Or did you help with cleaning or food or such and came occasionally? Or the workshops where they created or learnt something?
I can tell this could be quite overwhelming sometimes.. depending on the people you work with/for yeah..

It would be fun to get a job to go guerilla gardening! lol
Not sure if anything like that exists, maybe if you get together with a bunch of people or start your own non-profit? Maybe some non-profits work on this too, have you looked around?
There is quite some money in green/eco things these days, and there are grants to apply for, at least here in EU, and probably over there too..

 

[Feathers]

id LOVE to do a live gig but thats also a worst nightmare lol

Id like to help people with mental health problems, maybe in the future i could go to college or uni.... cant really see that ever happening tho

yeah I'd love to do live gigs too, it could be quite stressful yeah, and now with hyperacusis, hmm.. we'll see.. maybe something acoustic or such..
have you ever played with a band or recorded anything?

college or uni can be expensive in some countries and more affordable elsewhere, you could also get some (real) degrees online.. maybe worth checking..
You can also do a lot as a volunteer or so, and maybe get recommendation letters for scholarships etc. or which part would be a problem? actually going and being among people, or studying and exams? Some people work and then finish uni, sometimes even employers pay for it or give them time off for studying..

 

[fife_girl]

yeah I'd love to do live gigs too, it could be quite stressful yeah, and now with hyperacusis, hmm.. we'll see.. maybe something acoustic or such..
have you ever played with a band or recorded anything?

college or uni can be expensive in some countries and more affordable elsewhere, you could also get some (real) degrees online.. maybe worth checking..
You can also do a lot as a volunteer or so, and maybe get recommendation letters for scholarships etc. or which part would be a problem? actually going and being among people, or studying and exams? Some people work and then finish uni, sometimes even employers pay for it or give them time off for studying..

never played with a band, had a few jamming sessions with my cousin...he is amazing in guitar!! was fun but i still got anxious, i worry too much about making mistakes and not being that good at it.

yea purely being around people, the work and exams i wouldnt mind, i dont get stressed about exams, just sitting them in a room full of people.

and if i wasnt understanding things i wouldnt mind asking for help, so its just my SA holding me back (at the moment)

 

[Feathers]

never played with a band, had a few jamming sessions with my cousin...he is amazing in guitar!! was fun but i still got anxious, i worry too much about making mistakes and not being that good at it.

yea purely being around people, the work and exams i wouldnt mind, i dont get stressed about exams, just sitting them in a room full of people.

and if i wasnt understanding things i wouldnt mind asking for help, so its just my SA holding me back (at the moment)

hmm, so if you beat SA you could do many of those things...

you're lucky to have such a cousin! I'm a bit afraid of musicians and don't have any that are related to me
some bands have relatives in them and they can be very cool too..

you could ask to take exams individually, in the professor's office, I know it's done for people re-taking exams or such.. if you talked to the professor they might okay 1st time taking in the individual setting too..

What kind of jobs/work have you been doing in the past and how did it go?

 

[Feathers]

Our charity shops are like thrift stores. We have Goodwill and The Salvation Army. The only challenges is having to talk to people all the time. Being a cash register is the most challenging because of talking to people and for the non profit places, you can be a live-in caregiver in some places but I didn't do that I went to work, clocked in and at the end of my 8-hour shift I went home. Preparing food, do laundry, give them their meds, run errands for them like doctor visits and the grocery store. Good luck, I hope you get to start businesses like that where you come from.

Thanks! We almost don't have any retro/thrift stores here.. One reuse center has been opened at another end of the country, and some 2nd hand shops exist, they aren't very 'thrift'-oriented though (quite expensive, some).
We have some places for people with mental health problems already, not sure how the employment there goes, some are volunteers and some get paid, I think..

I don't do okay with constant people contact either, I need some people contact and some peaceful/writing-related/paper work or such.. to do analysis and planning etc.

Have you thought about maybe trying any other jobs, these seem quite extreme? Or maybe moving to a different location if nothing good exists locally? (Some places can be better or worse to find jobs/work in.. when my friend lived in South Carolina she said it was quite difficult to find a job she wanted so they moved to another part of USA..)

 

[Luke1993]

hmm yes this is what i fear, being jobless and on the dole. I have applied for numerous jobs, but none have given me an interview, I'm not even sure if I'd make it past that stage. I'm at college now, so I guess I have an "excuse" not to work. However I would like to try volunteer work, there was a place near me I could work at but I'll have to wait around half a year before I can work there (Need to be 18)

 

[fife_girl]

hmm yes this is what i fear, being jobless and on the dole. I have applied for numerous jobs, but none have given me an interview, I'm not even sure if I'd make it past that stage. I'm at college now, so I guess I have an "excuse" not to work. However I would like to try volunteer work, there was a place near me I could work at but I'll have to wait around half a year before I can work there (Need to be 18)

good luck with the job hunt
im sure youll do great at interveiws

 

[fitftw]

no 6 years on SSI benefits...you can only get unemployment once in between jobs for up to 6 months. In those 6 months you must be looking for a job. Well, its called SSI here in America but dont know what its called in the UK for her.

what the **** is SSI? Nevermind, I don't care.

 

[fitftw]

I have never heard of that. I've heard of Social Security, of which none of us will get when we're old and need it. Tis why I refuse to have children. They will be ****ED.

 

[lunaticbinge]

Wow, i wish i could qualify for disability. Way better than the homelessness I might have to face later. It's a bitch to get disability for mental problems over here, which is why there are so many schizo homeless. Hopefully I don't have to join their ranks.

 

[Danfalc]

It's a bitch to get disability for mental problems over here, which is why there are so many schizo homeless. Hopefully I don't have to join their ranks.

I was surprised when I first heard people with Mental health problems don't get as much financial support in the states.

It's not exactly easy to get on long term disability here in the UK,I had to fight tooth and nail for mine.Even going 7 months while I was homeless with no money while they processed it.

But still I could not imagine not having it,my family completely fell apart and I would of ended up on the streets without it.I'm still shocked a lot of so called modern countries have so little support for mental health.The stability benefits can offer give people the chance to turn around their lives until they get back on track.

 

[scottishpacfan]

I was surprised when I first heard people with Mental health problems don't get as much financial support in the states.

It's not exactly easy to get on long term disability here in the UK,I had to fight tooth and nail for mine.Even going 7 months while I was homeless with no money while they processed it.

But still I could not imagine not having it,my family completely fell apart and I would of ended up on the streets without it.I'm still shocked a lot of so called modern countries have so little support for mental health.The stability benefits can offer give people the chance to turn around their lives until they get back on track.

A Lot of people are just Plain Ignorant about it.

 

[Waybuloo]

Hey Brooklynn, what kind of jobs were they, if you don't mind saying? Like working in charity shops or in non-profit offices or...? With people or away from people, or a mixture of both?

I don't trust the state to provide any type of benefits for long... Now here policemen and people on borders and all state employees were on strike.. A few weeks before, it was the doctors..
Like in Greece, if states collapse, what will happen?
Sure Greece got bailed out, but they need to start 'economizing'.. And the Greeks don't like it..

People from all over EU are protesting against 'government economizing'...
I don't trust the state/s or govs to help people survive..
If governments get broke, who will give benefits, and for what? Maybe worth it to think about a bit.. That's why I started to learn gardening last year and such.. (I was very anti-gardening before..) At least if worst happens we have something to eat, beans and corn and potatoes and such... Even people in urban areas/cities have started to learn how to garden.. They call it urban gardening or guerilla gardening sometimes

It's funny how 200 or 400 years ago almost no one had 'jobs' and they all worked and mostly survived... (sometimes just barely, but they did survive and some were well off..)

Here in the UK the Conservative party just elected themselve into government (it was hung, and the leader made himself Prime Minister without a majority). Already they are talking about rationalising benefits, cutting benefits, raising the sales tax up to 20% - all measures to punish the poor and those unable to work for the reckless behaviour of the financial elite, great huh? I'm sure there are people who are just milking the benefits system for all they can get, but no one can ever make a general sweeping argument for or against benefits because it captures those who deserve it along with those that don't.

Sometimes my mind drifts off to life in the Victorian age (no i'm not that ancient, it's just from watching Oliver Twist), and I think how lucky we are now, even those on benefits eat better than the poor and middle classes in the past. Although having a purpose is important, I think idleness is not healthy. I'd rather be struggling than idle.

 

[fife_girl]

Here in the UK the Conservative party just elected themselve into government (it was hung, and the leader made himself Prime Minister without a majority). Already they are talking about rationalising benefits, cutting benefits, raising the sales tax up to 20% - all measures to punish the poor and those unable to work for the reckless behaviour of the financial elite, great huh? I'm sure there are people who are just milking the benefits system for all they can get, but no one can ever make a general sweeping argument for or against benefits because it captures those who deserve it along with those that don't.

Sometimes my mind drifts off to life in the Victorian age (no i'm not that ancient, it's just from watching Oliver Twist), and I think how lucky we are now, even those on benefits eat better than the poor and middle classes in the past. Although having a purpose is important, I think idleness is not healthy. I'd rather be struggling than idle.

This is very true, i know im very lucky to be on benefit but i just wish i could be working and earning money

 

[Danfalc]

*snip*

Well said.I think it's horrible what the government are doing,targeting the countries most vulnerable people.Pensioners will be getting there benefits cut too and they hardly get enough as it is.Financial experts have even said the cuts are not even enough to put a dent in the countries debt and there are not enough jobs to support people.It would make more sense to cut the amount of bonuses bank mangers are giving themselves.Or the funds politicians get for second houses.

I struggle on benefits sometimes as it is,but what's even more wrong imo,is that it seems some people get punished for coming off benefits and getting back to work.I have a few friends who went into work,but because of the amount of tax and bills they got hit with they were worse off and one even ended up loosing his flat due to not being able to pay rent.And yet the super rich get tax cuts because the government are scared too scared to come down on them so we take the strain.

 

[Remus]

I think what bothers me about disablement benefits in my country is they give disablement benefits to those who caused their condition, i.e. drug addicts and alcholics, yet for someone like me, injured in a work accident (or even someone mentally ill), it has been a real struggle to get accepted. I think they should be put on JSA and not get the WTC disablement premium. I think doctors should decide who is elligable too and not some stupid private firm with targets (ATOS)

 

[scottishpacfan]

Well said.I think it's horrible what the government are doing,targeting the countries most vulnerable people.Pensioners will be getting there benefits cut too and they hardly get enough as it is.Financial experts have even said the cuts are not even enough to put a dent in the countries debt and there are not enough jobs to support people.It would make more sense to cut the amount of bonuses bank mangers are giving themselves.Or the funds politicians get for second houses.

I struggle on benefits sometimes as it is,but what's even more wrong imo,is that it seems some people get punished for coming off benefits and getting back to work.I have a few friends who went into work,but because of the amount of tax and bills they got hit with they were worse off and one even ended up loosing his flat due to not being able to pay rent.And yet the super rich get tax cuts because the government are scared too scared to come down on them so we take the strain.

Dan, dont you find the Job centre staff to be cold and and uncaring when it comes to talking to people with mental health Issues??

 

[scottishpacfan]

This is very true, i know im very lucky to be on benefit but i just wish i could be working and earning money

Check this site Hun



Benefits and Work

 

[Danfalc]

@Remus,I can see what your getting at.I also get annoyed when i hear about people getting benefits "just" because they are addicted to drink.They automatically get a very high rate where other people struggle.I think benefits should be given but only if they are making serious attempts to get better,but addiction can be an illness in itself and some addicts really are in no fit state to work.

If they started enforcing something like that I could see them using it as an excuse to cut more peoples benefits.Many people experiment with drugs during their teen years and I could see them using that as an excuse and say it's what caused the mental health problems people have which i don't think would be fair.

@ScottishPacfan.I have had the rare nice one who have been very helpful.But it was the exception rather than the rule.They almost had the attitude I was lying about my problems or just did not care.I was on JSA for a while and despite my problems I was actively looking for work.Yet they didn't take my problems into account and expected me to apply for really unsuitable jobs.They claim to support people and have equality for everyone but in reality it's very lacking due to ignorance and a lack of education on the issues people have.