What 'The Real World' Feels Like to Me

Wow, where has this year gone? Into September already!

Last year, I left college and went into the 'real world'... I got myself a job writing articles for an online magazine, and it kept me busy for about a month or two, but then things started to go down hill when communication broke down between the magazine editor and I, on their part. I sent a few emails to her, and I even tried the generic email address, but I didn't receive any response to any of my emails.

I finished writing my second article for this magazine around the end of July, 2019, and it was published in the November. I was hoping this would carry on, and I had hoped that I would write lots more articles for this website, but unfortunately, it was clearly just temporary. Since then, I have been hunting high and low for another job.

I live in the Portsmouth area, and someone I knew suggested I have a look at a community organisation, I believe this place is run solely by volunteers. It has lots of bases in various locations, my local one is based in Fareham. Last year, I went to see what they were all about, and I asked if there would be a place for me to volunteer for them. To cut a long story short, I filled in an enquiry form; just a small piece of paper to say what I was looking for, and gave them my contact details for them to get in touch. I never heard back from them, so I presumed that my enquiry had been lost somehow.

In February, I went to find out what was going on, and I filled in yet another form. Then someone from this place got in touch with me to find out more and to organise an 'informal meeting' (I classed it as an interview). I was ecstatic that I was finally getting somewhere with regards to work. I was ready and raring to start, but on the 11 March, I received an email from the woman who interviewed me, and she said that she was leaving the organisation. She passed my details onto her colleague, who was supposed to get in touch with me.

I messaged their Facebook page to say no one had contacted me after I had sent an email to the other lady. Eventually, she got in touch with me, apologising profusely for not getting in touch. She also said that they weren't taking on any more volunteers at the moment due to Covid and social distancing restrictions, which is understandable, but still annoying because I think I was going to be doing most work from home anyway! However, she did say that she would get back in touch if anything comes up in the future, which is good.

To be honest, I knew that getting any job would be extremely difficult for me because I am limited in what I can do physically, but this pandemic has made it one hundred times more difficult. When I heard about this community organisation, I was really excited because they said that they were going to put a personalised job role together for me, which sounded really promising. Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be. I think I've accepted the fact that I won't be getting a job at the moment, so that's good I guess.

I know that it would be extremely unlikely, but if I do get a job that I am paid to do, I would need to keep an extra close eye on my income coming in because I will never be able to do the amount of work to earn enough to keep living on work income only. I do need my benefits and therefore I will be limited on how many hours I can work in order to keep my benefits. Also, if I do decide to go for a job that I'm paid for and forget to limit my hours or my wages, I might go over the amount I'm allowed to earn. Then I'd lose my benefits, and have to re-apply for them all over again. It would just be a nightmare really, so I'm better off just doing voluntary work.

My ideal world would be where every person has the same opportunities. Whether that would be job and work opportunities, or more choice about where they live and when they move into their own home. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to live in my parent's current house because we just don't have the space. The worst part is the fact that my parents could be seriously hurt at any point when they are helping me move. I know that I'm housed, but I am nowhere near “adequately housed”, which is what Gosport Borough Council class me as. It's not safe for me any more, and this house hasn't got the correct layout for equipment that I need.

The only way I can move in the house is by 'crawling' on my knees, and even then, I'm confined to one room. If I need to go somewhere else, I need my mum or dad to lift me. My dad can't lift me properly any more, and I think it's getting more dangerous.

This is why I need to be on the high priority list, rather than the medium. I had maximum points, but they have changed the system. People used to be able to bid on properties that would meet their requirements, but now the council has three lists: low, medium and high priority. The people on the low priority list haven't got a hope in hell of getting housed.

I know that there isn't a lot of adapted properties out there, especially in Gosport, but I don't think the council are handling the situation properly... I don't know if it will help, but I'm going to try and build up a campaign against the Housing Department of Gosport Burrough Council. If you have connections with Gosport, please hep me by completing this survey. If I get enough responses, it will help me collect evidence to build a campaign. You can view and complete this survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDXMRnlPDM_UF3r27Xlwfk8k5ioWl116VhbpClsjnp9utI3A/viewform

Since I've got older, I have realised that I, and many other people live in a world that isn't equipped for people who have limited use of their body. I'd love it if this would change to be more accommodating and accessible, but unfortunately, the support network just isn't big enough for us to be heard on a large scale...