Published on 12, July, 2020
Okay, YOU don't have to laugh, but I almost found myself laughing at an e-mail I received yesterday. Hopefully, it will be clear as to why later.
During the summer of 2022, my work coach at the job centre informed me that she needed to refer me to the DWP Work & Health Programme. During an initial telephone conversation with the person who was to be my key worker, I explained my various physical and mental health issues and how they affected my daily life. I felt I had painted a fairly clear picture of what my day-to-day life can be like, and made it clear that unless I was in a better place with my health, I felt the chances of me even considering work were slim. The keyworker intimated that although there was support for physical and mental health issues, it would only be offered for physical health OR mental health, but not both. In my case, I feel the two are very much intertwined. As the impression given in the Work & Health Programme literature is that it is tailored to the individual, let's just say that I was left feeling thoroughly unimpressed.
To cut a long story short, my dealings with the organisation running the Work & Health Programme did not do my health any good whatsoever, to the extent that my work coach removed me from the programme, told the organisation running it not to contact me, and insisted I go down the Limited Capability for Work route.
The content of the e-mail I received yesterday is irrelevant, but the fact I received it more than 12 months after being removed from the Work & Health programme is what I find almost laughable. It doesn't exactly fill one with confidence when the organisations the UK government seems to favour to deliver such programmes would be completely incapable of organising a p*ss-up in a brewery.
I've had similar experiences going through DWP unemployment system. I started with them around 2009 as a regular unemployed person (I had no official diagnoses at that time) and was on JSA. I was therefore expected to do a lot under this 'regime' (as I heard them describe it themselves) e.g. Intensive Activity Period for a month or so I think it was. As it all inevitably went badly for me it became apparent even for them that it wasn't working (for them or me). At one stage I mandatorily had to attend one if the contracted out finding work/training type organisations very regularly each week. In their first appointment letter it stated 'we look forward to our appointment and helping find the right job for you'. I thought 'they sound very confident'. In time the letter wording changed to 'help find a job for you'. My time with them ground to a halt i.e. disintegrated completely and I hear from them all extremely rarely at all these days (especially with the coronavirus pandemic I guess). I wondered if had I continued with them a future letter would've said something exasperated like 'just get a job you lazy git!'. I've had two diagnoses via NHS during this time and am 'parked' on ESA support group (whereas I was previously in the work related activity group) limited capability to work due to mental illness. Nowadays they don't bother me and I don't bother them, a bit if a status quo. With one governmental services type support worker she criticised me when I described myself honestly as having dysfunctional behavioural tendencies generally, 'you shouldn't describe yourself as dysfunctional, you should be more positive' 'ok, I'm positive I have dysfunctional behavioural tendencies' I replied. She was being dysfunctional about dysfunction imo. I wanted to laugh and was able to resist it. During my time with it all I have also noticed that sometimes it seems to be unacceptable for me to behave with them in certain ways e.g. 'we do not accept angry aggressive behaviour' and yet I've experienced such behaviour from them, a bit like at school in 'the olden days' etc #hypocrisy
It's a mad world. At one job centre interview I informed my work coach that I had autistic tendencies, she dismissed my words and told me that in her opinion I was 100% normal. Five minutes later she told me off for having slightly unorthodox body language.
Yes, the world's gone mad indeed.