I’m just looking for some advice and I don’t even know where to start.
I fell pregnant in October at uni and only found out I was pregnant around March/April time. I was in a very bad place financially, to the point where I was eating maybe one meal a week and even that was pasta. I don’t even know how I survived, let alone created a whole other human. Coronavirus happened, we were all kicked out of uni accoms so I was sofa surfing while heavily pregnant for a while and going between friends houses. Decided I would not go back to uni in September, instead I would take a year out. I had to make my £1,500 maintenance loan last me from mid April until now. I wasn’t eligible for any sort of benefits until now because I was technically still “a student“ and students aren’t eligible for benefits.
So I’ve now completely ran out of money, and my universal credit payment has finally been approved however it takes 5 weeks to clear. I’m not eligible for an advance payment because I had an advance when I claimed UC when I was 16. I’m lost. I’m still sofa surfing, but now with a small baby, and I don’t have a penny to my name. I’m not eligible for food banks because I “technically” live with my mum and she’s very well off however she refuses to help me in any way shape or form. I can’t work right now due to the pandemic & the issue of childcare. I do not know what to do. I am at my wits end. My baby gets through £70-80 worth of food a month which doesn’t sound like much but when you have nothing, £70 is a massive expense.
Please can someone guide me as to what I can do to make sure my baby and I make it to October. Is there anything, any sort of free baby food schemes or hardship grants or anything like that. We’re running out of options, running out of places to stay & people to help. I just seriously fear for mine and my baby’s life and I don’t know what to do