Renting and welfare

LegacyUser

I'm on welfare and have been for a year now, I live in the middle of nowhere and dont drive. I go nowhere and do nothing and I'm starting to lose it.

The last few weeks I've felt it coming on more and more. I need out before I break down. Cam I move to rented accommodation while in receipt of the dole and if so how does it work ?

I'm away out of here before I end up having a breakdown and I need to move to a town somewhere and just look for work, live off what I have. Worst case scenario its a break from here. I dont care what happens but if I stay here much longer I'm a goner. I can feel myself slip, I can feel the panic setting in. It used to manifest itself as anger but recently its and overwhelming sense of sorrow and futility and I have almost lost it twice. Heart beat flying, panic building, desperately needing to get away but knowing theres nowhere to go.

I need to get out of here.

qwertytlk

Hi,yes you can rent allowance whilst on the dole.
However, some areas have brought in a clause where by you must be in private rented accomodation for at least 6 of the previous 12 months in order to be entitiled to rent allowance. This may not be the case in your area so check it out with your local social welfare office.
The payments (in dublin anyway) are 96euro per week for a single person in a one bed self contained flat/bedsit. There is a lower payment (dont know how much) if your living in shared accomodation. I.e renting bedroom in a house share situation.
So basically you are allowed to look for a place where the rent is no more than 120 per week, and you will be payed 96euro per week in rent allowance so you must make up the other 24 from your dole.
You get this by looking for flats/apartments that will accecpt rent allowance, then you get some forms from the social which you and the landlord must complete, then you return them to you community welfare officer and they pretty much give you the go-ahead to move in once everything is in order.

Im not sure where you living but this is how it is in dublin anyway, but i would say it would be basically the same in other areas. Although the rent allowance might be for a lower amount in rural areas...it all depends on the prices in te area.
So go to your local social welfare office and enquire about it, then go see your community welfare officer and they will yive you the relevant forms.

In regard to your depression/anger, well i hope moving to somehwere more populated does help you, but perhaps you may want to see a counsellor also.
Best of luck, i hope this info has helped.
(you will also find more info on the department of social and family affairs website)

Saila

ok you dont have a car but can you walk and or cycle?, try go for walks at least if so, and go off hiking and that kind of thing if you can

LegacyUser

I'm gonna go to a counsellor I think before making any decisions. Cant hurt to have a chat with someone about this anyway.

Now how do I find a counsellor ? I found a website counsellor.ie which lists counsellors in every area but then theres a disclaimer saying that I should check all qualifications and details of the people myself.

What qualifications should someone have to be a credible councillor ? And how do I find them ?

iguana

Presumably you have a medical card if you are on SW? So you could always start by having a chat with your doctor and seeing if they have any recommendations or if there is a HSE mental health service available to you.

On the rental side of things I'd recommend waiting until the next budget before making any decisions. You don't want to sign a lease on a place dependant on receiving a certain amount of rent allowance and then discover a few weeks later that the amount is about to be cut.

tenchi-fan

Yes, of course you can move house while claiming welfare. In fact, as you live in the middle of nowhere and have no transport it seems like the logical option.

Assuming you're claiming dole at €188 per week there is no reason you can't find a house-share for say €88pw including bills.

You probably wont be entitled to rent supplement (see list of requirements on the citizens information website)

LegacyUser

iguana wrote: »

Presumably you have a medical card if you are on SW? So you could always start by having a chat with your doctor and seeing if they have any recommendations or if there is a HSE mental health service available to you.

On the rental side of things I'd recommend waiting until the next budget before making any decisions. You don't want to sign a lease on a place dependant on receiving a certain amount of rent allowance and then discover a few weeks later that the amount is about to be cut.

I find it hard to talk to my doctor about these issues. Last time I tried to raise them he put everything down to a bad sleeping pattern and prescribed me sleeping tablets. Told me once that was sorted the rest would follow and gave me the usual "get some exercise" talk which at this stage is more like a kick in the face than actual help. No offence to the people who give it as a suggestion but its almost like saying "calm down" to someone having a panic attack. Logical but pointless.

I go see my doctor and see if he can refer me to someone but from what I hear from people who have gone down that road I wont be disappointed if the first counsellor I meet gives me the "Get some exercise, it'll make ya feel better" speech.

LegacyUser

To be honest, I know some people who live in the middle of nowhere and they are chuffed with that. They do have transport however. The reason people mention exercise is that exercise releases endorphins which makes you feel better. So if you went for a run for 30 mins or a walk for 60 mins, you generally start thinking about other stuff and your mind becomes more active. That and it gets you out of the house which you seem to be so allergic to. So if you don't like being in doors then logically people would suggest that you get out more... You don't say what you did for work, maybe you will need to retrain. Everybody does if you are in or out of work anyway. Anyway good luck with your meeting with a counsellor and then asking the social about relocation.

ravima

do you own your present accomodation; rent it or live rent free with family?

If you own it, it is very doubtful that you will get rent allowance for another place; if you are renting, just move and if you are living at home, look at the positives as well as the negatives.

LegacyUser

Just get out of there. That is the only solution.

You can do it.

LegacyUser

Look at the positives of living at home (I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown, cost of living doesnt change that) and get some exercise (already talked about this) type suggestions are not needed. I've heard it all a million times and repeating it all doesnt help, quite the opposite in fact. I appreciate you taking the times to respond but advice along those lines as mentioned before is counter productive to my issues so please dont post if thats all you have to say.

LegacyUser

beenteredundat wrote: »

Just get out of there. That is the only solution.

You can do it.

Think your right but I think I'd like to have a chat to a counsellor first to get to grips with the issues. Dont want to get out of here and end up being the same somewhere else. I need to change myself to some extent before I can project that onto my life.