Before I was swept into poverty due to circumstances beyond my control, I was in full-time employment in the NHS, I was married with children, I was buying my own home with my husband via a mortgage, I was studying for a degree and I was doing all of those things. Being poor is not a personal failing as I have come to learn, nor does it mean that you are feckless, lazy, scrounging or skiving. Absolutely anyone can be swept into poverty cast adrift from the lifeline of Social Security through no fault of their own.
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