Friend needs to start again after separation. How?

[LittleDisaster]

I'll try very hard to be neutral, but it's hard not to view this situation as "unusual".

Friend married 12 years, one preteen child.

They live in a council flat.

Wife has a disability which means she can't be left alone for very long. Friend hasn't worked for some years in order to be her carer - claims benefits for this.

Wife does work a few hours per week- possible because of reasonable adjustments and the fact that she's not alone at work. Her hours fluctuate week on week though so it hasn't been possible for friend to get a job around hers .

So, they basically live off her disability benefits, her small wage, carers allowance and tax credits. Once they split he has no income at all. I suppose he'd have to become a job seeker and may be entitled to some benefits himself?

Expectation is that child will spend most time with wife in their current flat.

So there's plenty wrong with their current situation, but how on earth does he go about sorting himself out? Practically, what does he need to do? Obviously get a job, but that's likely to be low paid, no real experience and out of the workforce for a long time. How does he find somewhere to live?

He needs to get a job, ig he is no longer a carer. He will probably need to get a private rental flat/studio or even go into a house share as he won't be top of the list for scarce council housing and he'll need an income to secure that . It can be hard to find landlords who accept DSS claimants and Local Housing benefit rates can be much lower than commercial rents ( need to check the local council website for the housing benefit rates in the area) . He may be able to use his DC needing to stay over and have a room as a lever to get higher up a Council or Housing Association list.

There are benefits calculators such as Turn2us that can give some indication of the financial help available but it sounds like he would only get UC as a single jobseeker with maybe some additional money for the (part) time he will have his DC. He could also contact citizens advice and the local council/housing associations. Indeed compiles lists of local jobs from most of the job websites. He could look into continuing his education and see if he qualifies for bursaries or loans to help him get trained in something he might like. He has a lot of experience as a carer. Will he be continuing as his wife's carer? How will she manage? Hopefully their Dc won't have to become a de facto carer - I'd want to avoid that at any cost to myself.