Breaking Point

Albundy2526

Hi, Situation is .... Im 29 years old, 2 kids under the age of 2 and a 3rd child on the way in may! I am out of work 2 years now ...first year i was mourning the loss of my brother and then when i got back on my feet i began looking for work in July of last year, i have not had any luck at all. My partner and i split in October of last year and i made my first claim for job-seekers allowance so i could pay some child support. I waited 5 weeks for it to be reviewed, then got called in for an interview off them, they said they'd send off results of interview and i had to wait another 5 weeks before i got a call to say i was not approved for some reason or other.
By this time by ex had got set up on loan parents and was getting 600euro rent allowance per month plus the loan parents made her monthly 1600euro. since November of last year her children's allowance has been stopped so they could review it, it is still cut off despite weekly calls to them! Anyway we have since patched things up and we went down to stop the Lone Parents and to talk about a family payment, they stopped the lone parents and said we'd have to talk with our rent officer about a family payment! Our rent officer told her rent allowance would be stopped until all paper work had been submitted to her from us as my partner is no longer renting alone! She said she would discuss a family payment or emergency payment with us when we came back to her!
Our monthly outgoings are 1950euro...we are now receiving 0euro per month! Rent due in 8 days, bills piling up! What do we do??? I feel worthless that i have to beg for these payments and feel even worse that i cannot get a job to save my life and support my family!
As title says....Im at Breaking Point!

mrsbyrne

first of all, im really sorry that you are in such a bad spot at the moment and sincerely hope that this mess can be sorted out soon. i understand that you are feeling panicky and helpless and that it must appear to you that "THE MAN" is doing everything he can to stop you from getting what you need to survive. you say you were refused JSA "for some reason", im guessing because for whatever reason at the time you didn't or couldn't supply them with the documentation they asked you for. the thing about making a SW claim is it can be stressful and overwhelming, especially JSA. its seems like they want to know what you had for breakfast. you had split up with the mother of your children and you just couldnt deal with all the pen-pushing,but social wefare have laid down procedures when making a claim which must be strictly adhered to so as to ensure that only people with a real entitlement qualify for payments. the thing is you cannot and will not get anything unless you comply to the letter of the law with the SW/CWO instructions. my advice to you is to get an appointment with each. ask them exactly what they require you to do and just do it. if you are near a citizens information centre, pop in and ask them for their advice. bring any correspondence you may have from sw/hse. ask if someone in there would be kind enough to act on your behalf, make a phone call or write a letter.

Albundy2526

Hi, thank you for the information. Yes you're right about the JSA, i was not able to provide them with a household bill in my name when i was back living with my parents for a short time, they sent out a lady to see that i was living there but both times where surprise visits and i was not there.
Going to head to citizens information as you suggested and see how they can help us out. Very stressful times, think i need to go hug the kids and get a pick-me-up
Thank you again