Surviving if you can't work

[2messdup]

In the UK if you are too disabled, too ill, or too mentally ill to work, the government will pay you benefits to live on. Soon they are cutting these benefits and people with mental illness probably won't get any benefits at all unless they're trying to find a job or working (if it's very low pay you can get benefits to top your pay up).
So essentially it seems if mental illness prevents you working you starve or die.
How does it work in other countries if you're unable to work? Do you get benefits? Do you get them for only a limited time? Do you get nothing and have to manage any way you can?

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

I'm in Canada. Mentally ill [OCD, PTSD, bipolar II], autistic, crippled. The last time I had a job I was 19 and working at a friend of a friend's pizza shop. I liked the job, but my physical issues and pain were getting worse and worse and I had to quit.

I've been on assistance for over a decade. First, just plain welfare. The funds were laughably low [still are] and I had to prostitute to get by for a few years. At the same time, I was applying for disability. It was years of appeals, re-applications, denials... I was finally approved and have been on full disability since I think about '18? I'm on disability pretty much for life now.

Aside from financial support, I get certain medical coverage as well. My prescriptions are all covered, never have to pay for doctor visits or specialists or hospital/ER shit or tests. I get $110 every 3 years for optical coverage [that includes eye tests and/or new frames or glasses]. Dental coverage hasn't been the best, but the government has been rolling that out to all low-income folks over the last year and that's a good thing. I got my forearm crutches for free, they were about $200, though my doctor had to have a bit of a back-and-forth fight with disability to get those paid for because the government was grumbling that I already had a cane and that should be enough.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Have they contacted you to say they will re-assess you? I assume they won't just cut benefits without establishing whether it's actually possible for a person to work. If it truly is impossible, that's pretty heinous.

I just don't really get how it's going to work. If people are even able to find employers willing to give them a chance but they genuinely can't do the job- employers won't be happy. Neither will employees. I realise it sounds horribly callous but, I've worked with people with difficulties. We were well understaffed as it was. If a difficult situation occurred, they would simply walk off! It wasn't exactly their fault. They couldn't handle it. But, there wasn't enough of us to pick up the slack. It's a great idea in an ideal world where people are adequately supported. Working environments aren't usually like that though- in my experience. Maybe the company will make physical adjustments to equipment to make it look like they're doing their bit. But, where it really counts- the day to day running, they won't spend the money. They'll hire a skeleton staff and expect you to work twice as hard. Then, they'll largely put the support of those who are struggling on people who are struggling themselves! It doesn't promote a joyful, harmonious atmosphere.

If they can't find work or refuse to work, they'll still need money to live. So- what can they do? There's likely only so much charity money to go around. Will we see more people turning to crime? Or, will they truly just let them die?

I've seen adverts for charities to basically just feed people in the UK. Like- seriously government officials? You actually expect the general population to feed one another now? You think that's a reasonable state of affairs that we get the responsibility as to whether our neughbours and elderly eat?

I'm sure there are people who milk the benefit system so fine- try and figure out who they are but, to deny genuine disability- yikes!

 

[Apathy79]

Here, you can get full government support if you can prove permanent impairment that prevents you from managing everyday tasks. This is usually a doctor diagnosis of severe schizo, bipolar, PTSD, etc. I believe clinical depression can be covered too in extreme cases. But the caveat is it is a recovery program and is designed to get you work ready eventually, even if it is just volunteering. No progress in therapy towards that can lead to being cut off, unless the therapist thinks it is out of your control.

 

[2messdup]

I'm in Canada. Mentally ill [OCD, PTSD, bipolar II], autistic, crippled. The last time I had a job I was 19 and working at a friend of a friend's pizza shop. I liked the job, but my physical issues and pain were getting worse and worse and I had to quit.

I've been on assistance for over a decade. First, just plain welfare. The funds were laughably low [still are] and I had to prostitute to get by for a few years. At the same time, I was applying for disability. It was years of appeals, re-applications, denials... I was finally approved and have been on full disability since I think about '18? I'm on disability pretty much for life now.

Aside from financial support, I get certain medical coverage as well. My prescriptions are all covered, never have to pay for doctor visits or specialists or hospital/ER shit or tests. I get $110 every 3 years for optical coverage [that includes eye tests and/or new frames or glasses]. Dental coverage hasn't been the best, but the government has been rolling that out to all low-income folks over the last year and that's a good thing. I got my forearm crutches for free, they were about $200, though my doctor had to have a bit of a back-and-forth fight with disability to get those paid for because the government was grumbling that I already had a cane and that should be enough.

Omg you're so resilient and tough! To get through all that.

Have they contacted you to say they will re-assess you? I assume they won't just cut benefits without establishing whether it's actually possible for a person to work. If it truly is impossible, that's pretty heinous.

I just don't really get how it's going to work. If people are even able to find employers willing to give them a chance but they genuinely can't do the job- employers won't be happy. Neither will employees. I realise it sounds horribly callous but, I've worked with people with difficulties. We were well understaffed as it was. If a difficult situation occurred, they would simply walk off! It wasn't exactly their fault. They couldn't handle it. But, there wasn't enough of us to pick up the slack. It's a great idea in an ideal world where people are adequately supported. Working environments aren't usually like that though- in my experience. Maybe the company will make physical adjustments to equipment to make it look like they're doing their bit. But, where it really counts- the day to day running, they won't spend the money. They'll hire a skeleton staff and expect you to work twice as hard. Then, they'll largely put the support of those who are struggling on people who are struggling themselves! It doesn't promote a joyful, harmonious atmosphere.

If they can't find work or refuse to work, they'll still need money to live. So- what can they do? There's likely only so much charity money to go around. Will we see more people turning to crime? Or, will they truly just let them die?

I've seen adverts for charities to basically just feed people in the UK. Like- seriously government officials? You actually expect the general population to feed one another now? You think that's a reasonable state of affairs that we get the responsibility as to whether our neughbours and elderly eat?

I'm sure there are people who milk the benefit system so fine- try and figure out who they are but, to deny genuine disability- yikes!

Comments from some readers of online newspapers that I've seen tend to be "work or starve" or "hunger is a great motivator". Idk what will happen. Right now, because I worked for many years until I had my breakdown I'm in the support group (no work related activities required)of contribution based ESA but that group is going to be abolished with no replacement. With all the changes, everyone with mental health problems and nothing else will, I suspect, be forced to try to find work but even that I would find totally overwhelming and impossible. It's not the reason I want to ctb but if I'd wanted to live, I don't know what I would have done.

Here, you can get full government support if you can prove permanent impairment that prevents you from managing everyday tasks. This is usually a doctor diagnosis of severe schizo, bipolar, PTSD, etc. I believe clinical depression can be covered too in extreme cases. But the caveat is it is a recovery program and is designed to get you work ready eventually, even if it is just volunteering. No progress in therapy towards that can lead to being cut off, unless the therapist thinks it is out of your control.

That sounds really humane and actually helpful rather than punishing people for what they can't help. The UK system has killed people in various ways including ctb. Are you able to share which country you're in? Np if you'd rather not cos of privacy.

 

[Apathy79]

That sounds really humane and actually helpful rather than punishing people for what they can't help. The UK system has killed people in various ways including ctb. Are you able to share which country you're in? Np if you'd rather not cos of privacy.

This is in Australia

 

[2messdup]

This is in Australia

Should have guessed. You are supported and get treatment. I'm sure it's probably not always as easy and trouble free as it sounds but it also appears to recognise how difficult mental illness can be.

 

[Apathy79]

It's good for clear cut cases for sure. Most people with more generalised depression/anxiety symptoms don't get in though. I guess it depends on where you fit. There's no shortage of complaints about it, but I guess that goes with the territory and compared to most places it is pretty good.