lonely and in debt

[wah52]

I am 50 been single parent for 15 yrs with a 17yr old daughter with complex learning needs,have debts of £10k thanks to no help from CSA and really struggling to cope with costs of everydays needs. I work 18hrs p.w. mainly for what I call my 'respite', had a breakdown last year social services not interested until i got involved with MENCAP who were excellent. S.S did not think i req.d a carers assessment but did agree to respite once a month (this took 8 months to get into place). My daughter and I have been interviewed for a residential college who can meet my daughters needs (this will enable me to get my life back) but unfortunately wilts county council are restricting students going to residential due to costs and placing them in local colleges for 2 to 2 1/2 days p.w wheres the logic? I am pulling my hair out with financial worries (wish there was a magic wand to make the debts go away) worried for my daughters future and my health feel like lifes thrown me the short straw

wah I feel for you, I share your worries
WRT your debts I am sure you know how to prioritise them. In the great scheme of thing 10k is not huge debt and in your situation you must have been very good with your money. What are they for? If it is from credit card do not stress too much about it, there are ways of keeping it under control
WRT to dd college it is ridiculous yes but will will benefit also from having 1 / 2 evenings for yourself I am sure you will make the most of it

I'm also a lone parent with a disabled child and I know how incredibly stressful it is. Does your DD get DLA? I struggled financially as I dont get maintenance either, but once my DD got DLA we got extra tax credits so I'm starting to pay back my debts now.

Have you investigated all the various sources of help for families with disabled children? We get help from Family Fund, lower gas/electricity etc.

If you go to a CAB they can help you prioritise the debts and ask for interest to be frozen. Sometimes they'll able to get them written off, but you might have to be on benefits for that.

You can push for a residential placement - go through the complaints process and don't give up! I got additional respite for my DD after going to the LGO and it's made a huge difference to us.

In terms of debt management why not get the CAB to write to your creditors to freeze the interest and clear them slowly with manageable monthly payments over a longer period and no longer use them.

Just a suggestion. Do NOT go for voluntary bankruptcy which is too easy an option and stitches innocent single parents up by not enabling them to get credit again for years, that is unless you really have no choice.

Good luck and hope this helps.