Benefits Street

Got it in one Charleygirl - except the air isn't very fresh currently, is it. Phoenix, I wish I could come up with some positive suggestions for you and Mr P. I wish some tv channel would make a programme that reflects the difficulties ordinary folks are facing, rather than focussing on the very extreme, which seems to me to play right into the governments hands. Everyone's a benefit cheat - NOT

phoenix, surely you will get benefits when your JSA ceases? Unless you have savings above the qualifying amount, or some other form of income, you will be literally penniless!

Oh Phoenix what will happen then? I don't know your whole story but any of us could be in your predicament they say we are all only 3 months away from financial problems. I do wish you well and hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

phoenix what are you expected to live on, fresh air?

Oh, I forgot to mention, my JSA will cease at the end of this month, because I have not made sufficient NI contributions in the last qualifying period.

Oh happy day.............NOT

I watched the programme and it did not surprise me. One resident told a newspaper that they were told the programme was about community spirit and helping each other. Film makers are quite devious.
Weight loss ward on itv features our local hospital and they go out and about in the community filming and I cringe, please ... we are not all like that ... overweight, on benefits and eating junk food.

phoenix I am so happy you are smiling again! [heart emoticon]

Galen but as a proportion of those on benefits they are a very small minority.

Grannyknot

MiceElf I've seen more than one programme about people who want to but can't find work - the one with Mary Portas and the knicker factory recently springs to mind ...and there have been others from time to time.

Oh phoenix I'm sorry it made you cross! There was me posting something that (hopefully) showed that not everyone on benefits are scroungers! I must confess I read the article and looked at pic and saw the percentages and didn't take in detail of the illustrations - looked again now and I'm almost certain that is Iain Duncan-Smith in a Burberry cap. Not sure why they used that? . And I plead ignorance of what a "geezer" should look like...

I haven't seen this programme but I have read about it and talked to DD who works in the media. She is incredibly critical. She says television production companies go out deliberately to make shock horror programs that cause extreme responses and persuade people to take part in them by misleading explanations of what it is about. As one of the participants said, people living in this street were told the program was to be about community cohesion and strength in difficult circumstances.

A production company could come to any community - village - town and film and interview any Gransnetter and the footage would then be edited to show that the gransnetter was either a little old lady, sad and lonely or a rampaging cougar with whom no man was safe - and neither would be true.

As most of us know the majority of benefits claimers are law-abiding work seekers, seriously disabled, or cannot work for good reason, most are only drawing benefit for a few months to see them over a gap be tween employment or while they recover from illness.

Channel 4 is laughing all the way to the bank as more people tune into the programme because of its notoriety and they put up the rates for advertising in the ad breaks.

I'm sorry, but a lot of people ,probably a minority, but still quite a lot, of the people I see at tribunals are like the ones portrayed.
They tend to be alcoholics and drug addicts and most of them seem to be on benefit.

Grannyknot I've only just got round to clicking the link that you posted above, and looking at the drawing below the video.

I'm afraid it made me a bit ! Is there any particular reason why the character chosen to portray the unemployed was shown as a sort of "geezer" in what is known as a "chavvy" type hat? The other characters were portrayed in quite a positive way.

I should like to see programmes about:

The £25 billion lost to the economy by tax dodgers
The £16 billion in unclaimed benefits
Those people desperate for work or in poorly paid work who cannot find proper employment
The way in which 'benefits' are actually subsidies for grasping landlords (yes, I know there are some excellent ones) and miserly employers who pay disgustingly low wages.

But I strongly suspect that because that would not feed into people's prejudices they will never be made.

Rosesarered and KatyK: I agree with you.
Channel 4 make many programmes like that - unpleasant propaganda.

Tegan only if you are income based JSA, mine is currently contributions based.

Bizarrely an email has just popped into my inbox asking for people to sign a petition to get this programme taken off the air as it is misrepresenting the decent people who are living in the area (which I'm sure it is). Of course Channel 4 will try to show the worst possible people to get the maximum reaction, which they have succeeded in doing. I live in Birmingham myself and have never come across people like these which is why I was so shocked. I won't be watching again, too depressing.

I have a nephew by marriage who is in his mid 20's. He went through the education system and now can barely read or write. He comes from a very large family, father is bone idle, mother has a degree in English and never helped him. He can hardly get out of bed before 2pm. He was given a flat and now his feckless girlfriend has moved in. They have lost one baby but it is a just a matter of time. He turns his nose up at any low level job- I would remove his benefits and I am sure that he would find some work if needs must.

People like him are given too much in benefits.

Phoenix you are SO right. When DH was made redundant for the first time (it happened to him 3 times in his working life) he tried desperately hard to get a job - any job at all. Because I was working, just a clerical job, he was given £46 per week. He found work only after 18 months, we were given no help at all, we had to spend what we had saved. Something which sounds trivial but would me up no end - a few years ago our dustbin was damaged and I rang the council to ask for a new one. The person I spoke to said 'are you on benefits or a pensioner?' (we weren't pensioners then). I said no. She said
'in that case you will have to pay £13'. I was incensed. Excuses are given for people such as featured in this programme such as 'oh well they learn it from their parents, it's a cycle'. Well I was dragged up in a rough, violent household. It just made me more determined to take a different path. I hope 2014 is a better year for you.

If you're getting jobseekers allowance you should get free prescriptions, I think.

I have read a bit about Benefits Street in the press, but didn't watch it, as it was pretty clear it'd be as representative of the majority of people who find themselves on benefits, as My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding was of the travelling community.
Phoenix - just want to send a hug, I know that won't put butter on any bread, but I do empathise with your situation. Some very close friend are in a similar position to yourself and Mr P, and it's getting them down as well.

Channel 4 seem to be on a mission to help the governments campaign against benefit cheats don't they. Pity they didn't select a more representative group of people. But these type of programmes always show the more extreme members of any community. I'm thinking Gypsy Weddings, Simply Kosher, and another programme set in Blackley, Manchester, none of which reflected the communities that were filmed in a representative way.

Thanks again for the good wishes. sunseeker , you would think that under those circumstances there should be help and advice given automatically, rather than leaving you to sort it out yourself.

Ana I wish I could, I might even get extra for Lily, as she definitely comes under the "special needs" category!

My DH was also self employed phoenix and when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer we were given no help or advice about whether we could claim anything to help us. We had no idea as we had only ever claimed sickness benefit when I had cancer 20 years ago.

It was a friend of mine who volunteered with CAB who told me about Disability Living Allowance which we were able to claim but that was it. It does make me angry when some people seem to be able to claim so much when people like you and I and our partners have to jump through so many hoops and then get turned down. Hope Mr.P's claim goes through quickly and is successful

Rosesare your are spot on about "documentary" makers getting the sort of behaviour they want when filming. That is probably the impression they wanted to give. I wonder how much the participants were paid for their perfomances will they win any acting Baftas? I wonder if the DM have a hand in funding the documentary makers?