Met a dance mum out on my walk with dog.
She has lost her job she had for 10 years due to Covid and her employer cannot afford to keep her relationship with her husband is rocky and he is reluctant to support her. The woman never had time for me before Covid. I was snubbed. I stopped myself from saying "welcome to my world" and asking why she now wants to speak to me now she has lost her job. She has no idea about benefit entitlements and terrified of claiming Universal Credit.
I offered her advice and pointed her in direction of Citizens Advice and welfare support from local authority. I wished her well. I don't lack empathy I've been there, done that, wore the t shirt. Nobody cared for me then.
I had my moment if smugness ( I am human after all) then felt a pang of guilt. This pandemic is having a negative affect on relationships or bringing the actual weakness of relationships to a head. There are many people away to discover, council houses are not handed out and life on benefits is not easy.
Contributors featured in
Home What we've learned ⤷ People's experiences ⤷ Write-ups ⤷ Zine ⤷ Audio Researching together ⤷ Resources ⤷ Researching poverty blog ⤷ Webinars Blog About ⤷ Meet the team ⤷ Contact ⤷ Data ⤷ Privacy Get involved
Covid Realities
is a collaboration between the Universities of
York and Birmingham, and
Child Poverty Action Group. The project has been funded by the Nuffield Foundation
but the views on this site are those of the project team and not necessarily the Foundation.
Menu