it's all ok there are a great many people with no real earning potential. There's nothing wrong with them medically. They just had the misfortune to be born with average to low intelligence. They're never going to be a manager or a supervisor or have a hugely successful self employed business or any other well paying job. Anyone in the national average wage or lower is going to struggle to rent privately as a single person due to the cost. Living with the threat of constant eviction if LL sells up or increases the rent beyond what you can afford meaning you have to regularly move on, which isn't only stressful from the moving point of view by from the point of securing the next rental, is pretty hellish. Sharing is ok in 20s or maybe 30s if you don't have kids and are single. It's not ok for people to live shitty lives just because they can't earn much. Social housing isn't just for people in bad circumstances, it's for everyone who needs it and that includes people on an average wage who are going to struggle with private rent. If people are eligible to join the housing register it's ok for them to do so. Joining at 18 is sensible if you think you may need it later on. You can join and not bid on anything, if you choose. We need more social housing not to kick people in the teeth because they need it and don't happen to be disabled.
The forever pm that's not the sort of reasons people put, because it's irrelevant. Reasons for joining the register are usually some form of local connection and need. Family in the area, a job in the area, having lived in the area at least 6 months, are connections. Needs include being on a low wage, struggling to afford your rent where you are along with your other costs, struggling to find someone who will rent anything to you, wanting to move from wherever you currently live (with family or partner), being over 35 and wanting a one bedroom property and being unable to afford it, living on benefits because you're a carer or can't find employment or your health only allows you to work part time or being a single parent to young child etc. As well as the variety of higher priority needs of homelessness, threat of homelessness, disabled household members or those who are chronically ill, people fleeing domestic abuse, people fleeing other abuse eg being bullied by neighbors. The more markers you have, the more likely you are to meet the criteria to join the housing register and then the various personal circumstances you have determines what band you're in and how many points you have within that band.
The OP drives and lives semi rural. Many don't drive or can't guarantee they'll always have the money to keep a car on the road. She's possibly bidding on properties in low demand due to their location or poor public transport links. She might be last in the priority for all we know, but if only 20 people bid then she's going to be number 20. If you bid on property nobody else bids on, you're going to get it by default, even if you're not the person in that band with the highest priority because it's not going to be given to someone who didn't bid. Same with bidding on a property that's not been advertised as for your banding. If it's eg band A property and nobody from band A bids, they'll look at the band B bids and give it to one of them. Equally, if it's a band C property with 2 bedrooms and you're only allowed one bedroom (they seem to allow bids on things you'll almost never realistically get, like one extra bedroom) but you're the only band C person who bids on it, it'll be given to you (although you'll then get reduced housing benefit if you're claiming that, because you've got an extra bedroom you don't need, AKA "the bedroom tax").