Tom Pollard Profile picture
Mar 3 10 tweets 6 min read
I've been interviewing people using #FoodBanks about the circumstances that have led them there & the impact on their #MentalHealth

In a new @IFAN_UK & @jrf_uk report, out today & covered by @BigIssue, I describe what I heard - here are the headlines 🧵 bigissue.com/news/social-ju…
Everyone I spoke to described experiencing some feelings of shame & embarrassment about using a food bank, particularly on their first visit. Many had put off seeking support that they desperately needed because of the stigma associated with poverty & accessing food aid. 2/10
People’s circumstances were complex & personal but the underlying reason for needing food aid was simple & universal: their income (primarily from benefits but sometimes from wages too) was inadequate to make ends meet, particularly after the £20-a-week #UniversalCredit cut. 3/10
With fuel & food prices increasing, there was a growing gulf between the income people were receiving & the cost of meeting their basic needs. This situation is only going to get worse - inflation is set to exceed 7% in April but benefits will only be uprated by 3.1%. 4/10
Everyone I spoke to wanted to be in work, & ideally earning enough to not need benefits, but many faced additional barriers such as health issues or caring responsibilities. Even those who were able to find work reported that it was poorly paid, insecure & unpredictable. 5/10
The challenge of living on an inadequate income was compounded by other issues people were experiencing, such as poor quality housing, outstanding debts (often to the DWP), & problems with the benefits system. These issues were causing people a huge amount of stress & worry. 6/10
The pressure & constant sense of struggle people were experiencing left them with little energy or 'headspace' to think much beyond the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet. People felt trapped in their current circumstances & often had little optimism about the future. 7/10
Having to endure sustained adversity & stress was taking an inevitable psychological toll on everyone I spoke to. Even when people didn't necessarily see themselves as having mental health problems, they often described issues that were suggestive of poor mental health. 8/10
Others spoke explicitly about experiencing anxiety & depression & suggested these issues had been directly caused or exacerbated by their difficult circumstances. Some people described having felt suicidal at times, as a direct consequence of the challenges they were facing. 9/10
Please do take a look at the full report & share it with others.

Huge thanks to everyone I interviewed, the food banks that hosted me (@EarlsfieldFood2 in South London & @TheCommunityCu1 in Kent), & to @IFAN_UK & @jrf_uk for supporting the research. 10/10
foodaidnetwork.org.uk/blog/mental-he…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Tom Pollard

Tom Pollard Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @PollardTom

Feb 22
Behind each of these overturned decisions is a person enduring months of uncertainty, anxiety & insufficient income. People often feel invalidated & even question their own disability. Their #MentalHealth suffers, sometimes to the point of feeling suicidal independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Other services, particularly NHS #MentalHealth services, often have to step in to both support someone through the process of challenging a decision & to respond to the psychological fallout of the stress this situation causes. This puts a further strain on public finances
A process to ration resources between people is always likely to leave some feeling unfairly treated, but there is so much space for improvement within the current system. Social security should be seen as an investment in people rather than just a cost to be minimised
Read 5 tweets
Jun 30, 2020
Reflecting on #DWP's mindless return to conditionality & sanctions (despite it being a totally inappropriate response at this time & an ineffective & often counter-productive approach for many people) got me thinking about policy driven by a misplaced sense of morality 1/10
The assumption behind conditionality & sanctions is that people need the threat of losing their benefits to motivate them to find work. This is implicitly justified on the basis that people are getting something from the state & so have a moral duty to do something in return 2/10
Similar morality narratives shape (& are used to justify) policy around drugs and alcohol, homelessness, immigration &, most obviously, the criminal justice system. But the associated approaches of reward & punishment tend to be pretty ineffective in terms of outcomes 3/10
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(