Child Poverty. With our benefits system ie. Housing, council tax, income support, child benefit. Is there any need for a child in the UK to be suffering from this?

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Discuss.

ah no Pesha, i didn't mean you weren't looking hard enough..i meant every town ought to have one, but sadly, doesn't.
We have managed to persuade the powers-that-be to provide some children's centres in 2 of the more densely populated estates, which i believe will be sort of one-stop shops for parents and children. Probably not much practical help though.

Yes sorry I probably wasn't very clear. I was trying to agree and say that we need one here and really should have one being such a poor area but didnt like to say we definitely haven't just incase we have but they've hidden it!!

Pesha- where do you live (just as I used to work in a surestart funded post in bridgwater so I know some of the initiatives that are about,a nd indeed DH is Chard born and bred and also knows a lot)

Hi peachy - think I knew you used to be local as we talked a few years ago about carnivals! I live in yeovil, I'm finding it impossible to find out about anything locally. I've also been looking for post natal groups and breast feeding support groups but cant seem to find anything.

CHARLIECAT - if you don't have £ to buy new stuff to trade on ebay, then you have effectively stopped trading as self employed and should therefore be entitled to JSA or IS. please make a claim it may take a little time, but you'd be entitled to it - then you can (try to!) put away a bit of money each week until you can afford new stock and end your claim. IS and JSA are menat to be there for times like this.

OMG THIS THREAD STILL GOING, I WAS ON HERE LAST NIGHT, I DONT THINK THIS COUNTRY IS IN POVERY CONSIDERING OTHER COUNTRIES

Breastfeeding- call the AVM, I dont know if you are aware but one of the real bigwigs there (she is now a unicef employee on the babyfriendly initiative) was from bridgwater, they will know what's available.

There's a surestart in Ilminster, they'll have a list of everything in the area. AS will homestart if you ahev one (they were trying to establish one there).

Something we always used to say to our families as well- if you want to know, ask the post office. For some reason they ALWAYS know!

persephone, I dont want to wangle with my claim in case it delays it further...but thanks. I might have to if this goes on much longer.

Charlie,
How about brokering? You know, where you sell other peoples' stuff on Ebay for a commission or set percentage of the selling price?

Just so they don't have to be bothered.

Some people already do this on Ebay, IIUC.

I looked at that when I first set up, there is a shop in town that does this, and me, the ebay addict hasnt been to have a look yet....which...is, well, quite mad really.
I wouldnt want to get into arguements about how much peoples stuff is worth.
For example, friend asks me to sell....erm...foot spa thing...cost 49.99...trundles home, has a look on ebay.
You can buy them for 14.99 new on ebay.
"Oh I want at least £25 for it"
Repeat "You can get one new for £14.99 on ebay"
Could you try and sell it for me?
No because you want £25 and its not gonna happpppppppeeeeennnnnnnnnn.
And my mums the same too.
Blardy Nightmare.

however I am selling my kite....reluctantly. Because that would buy a lotta food, a bit of petrol and id stick 10 quid in the phone bill pot too

am dissapointed at this thread. not a blue flag tory toting beneift basher in sight (nearly)

i was sure it would have kicked off in tremendous style.

has started to threaten the children of second families with homelessness and you all ignored me?!

God that lost it's impact didn't it?

Try again

I posted that the Government has started to threaten the children of second families with homelessness and you all ignored me. Why is this a non-issue?

bit more info needed perhaps?

i thought the csa was being scrapped and they were starting again with a completely different approach. I had natcen round recently doing research on what i thought about csa and what id want from a new agency and from the questions they were asking it seems like they're looking at leaving it much more up to parents to sort out and just offering advice and support where needed.

See my new thread.

Where is it?

Should still be in active convos, but here

Scrub that, found it!

Camila Batmangelidj (I know I haven't spelled that right but I am too lazy to google it) of Kids' Company, an organisation that works with some of the most deprived children in London, says that she meets many children whose parents were just about managing but then were tipped over the edge by some crisis that they were simply not equipped to deal with. It's not just a question of how much money you have coming in, it's about a whole load of other things, like security, and support, and knowing where to go to get advice.

She is sooooooo amazing, I saw a documentary about her. What a woman.

Yes. Kids' Company do some work at my DSs' school. If I met her I'd be overwhelmed, I wouldn't know what to say.

Agree Dino, a lot of our homestart famillies were like that- people think they're needy / SS famillies but mostly they're famillies where something (financial, healthwise, whatever) has just tipped them off balance. It doesn't take much- a few weeks off work with a sick child, planning to go back to work straight after a baby then getting PND, even a lost purse the day you have to go and buy all the school uniforms- it all hits and it always seems to be when you're at your least able to deal with it.

I agree with you Peachy- the family I was assigned to when with Homestart quite simply could not cope following the cotdeath of their youngest child. The father in the house literaly could not cope with leaving his wife at home all day as he was convinced that she would end her own life, therefore he was unable to work.

Of course this then leads to a father of five other children finding himself on the dole, already in debt to Doorstep Loansharks ( scum of the earth who should be shot) and unable to keep their heads above water.

I saw so much, too much poverty when with Homestart, a sad fact of this poverty was the bullying that these poor children encountered while at school- making them skip school, and from there of course they miss out on education, making themselves quite often unemployable.....and so the pattern continues.

Oh I agree, especially about doorstep loansharks- used desperatrion to plunge many a family into Hell