http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18145323
Here is a link to a piece written by young rapper Speech Debelle who made a TV programme that was broadcast on BBC Three the other day about homelessness. I've included it for In My Shoes because this young woman was eloquent on the subject of hidden homelessness.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Friday, 25 May 2012
London living wage and hotels
There was some good news on the jobs front yesterday if you are one of the 850 staff who work in one of the eight hotels in London managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group. But the fanfare of publicity comes with a caveat - there's always a but.
The managing director for the UK and Ireland, Stephen McCall made the announcement: "We've made a commitment to become a London living wage employer in all the London hotels we manage...over the next five years."
The Living Wage Campaign was started by the campaign group London Citizens in 2001. Since that time the Living Wage Foundation has accredited over 100 Living Wage Employers.
The reason the story caught my eye was that hotels in London are notoriously poor employers. So the fact that an international chain has made this commitment is something of a surprise. OK so they're not going to fully implement it for five years, but I think the fact that IHG have made a public commitment is a start.
I know of one hotel near Tower Bridge where if you queue up from 6.30 in the morning you stand a good chance of getting a day's work - and this has been the case for years. You are paid a pittance and they don't ask too many questions, they hassle you to clean as many rooms as possible, but they'll pay you cash at the end of the day.
I've never worked there but have pointed people I know in that direction - they tell me it's awful and that they shout at you constantly. This is only one example I know of but you do hear of horror stories often. All of which puts what IHG in quite a good light.
On the subject of the London living wage the Evening Standard carried out a survey of the shops on Oxford Street before Christmas just gone. There was only a handful of those shops that paid the London living wage. This is supposed to be London's premier shopping street. It is clearly not so first class for the workers!
The managing director for the UK and Ireland, Stephen McCall made the announcement: "We've made a commitment to become a London living wage employer in all the London hotels we manage...over the next five years."
The Living Wage Campaign was started by the campaign group London Citizens in 2001. Since that time the Living Wage Foundation has accredited over 100 Living Wage Employers.
The reason the story caught my eye was that hotels in London are notoriously poor employers. So the fact that an international chain has made this commitment is something of a surprise. OK so they're not going to fully implement it for five years, but I think the fact that IHG have made a public commitment is a start.
I know of one hotel near Tower Bridge where if you queue up from 6.30 in the morning you stand a good chance of getting a day's work - and this has been the case for years. You are paid a pittance and they don't ask too many questions, they hassle you to clean as many rooms as possible, but they'll pay you cash at the end of the day.
I've never worked there but have pointed people I know in that direction - they tell me it's awful and that they shout at you constantly. This is only one example I know of but you do hear of horror stories often. All of which puts what IHG in quite a good light.
On the subject of the London living wage the Evening Standard carried out a survey of the shops on Oxford Street before Christmas just gone. There was only a handful of those shops that paid the London living wage. This is supposed to be London's premier shopping street. It is clearly not so first class for the workers!
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
The Work Programme - how come it doesn't work very well?
I think we all know what the Work Programme is - it is a compulsory scheme for those claiming Job Seekers Allowance for 12 months or more. I've written about this before; http://inmyshoesnorthlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/welfare-to-work-new-way-with-new.html
It says on the Directgov website that it is: "delivered for Jobcentre Plus by specialist organisations, called 'providers'. Your provider will give you all the support you need to find and stay in work,"
So the DWP wrote to me and said I'd failed to go to an appointment and unless I came up with a valid reason, they were going to "sanction" my benefit - which means; cutting it off. I knew I'd missed the appointment, when I'd signed on they told me - all these buggers are linked up on some giant computer.
So I rang my adviser that afternoon, her words to me were: "Oh, maybe I didn't send you out a letter, don't worry, you're getting a new adviser, I'm being promoted, I'll let her know - she's really nice."
The morning after I'd received the threatening letter from the DWP I rang the office that sent it. I explained the nature of my call to be told by the man on the other end - who doesn't know me from Adam, that he has "proof" that I'm not keeping up with my responsibilities. I point out to the man that he should be a little more careful with the language he uses and agree to write them a reply. I ask if there is a time limit, he tells me I have five working days and that I need to contact my provider.
The funny thing is if you need their help, or you're trying to get signed on say, it will take them weeks to sort it out. If they want to cut your benefit off, you have five working days to stop them!
So then I get another letter, this time from my provider telling me of a mandatory appointment warning of dire consequences should I fail to attend. Funny thing is, it is for the day when I am working. I am now working part-time at Poached Creative. My provider knows this. When I ring the new adviser to reappoint it turns out there is no record whatsoever of when I work, although my file does tell her that I am working part-time.
My point is, if the Work Programme providers are employing people who can't cope with sending out letters, can't manage basic record keeping and fail to communicate basic information to their colleagues, how in heaven's name are they going to "give you all the support you need to find and stay in work."?
And this "specialist organisation" promoted this woman!
It says on the Directgov website that it is: "delivered for Jobcentre Plus by specialist organisations, called 'providers'. Your provider will give you all the support you need to find and stay in work,"
So the DWP wrote to me and said I'd failed to go to an appointment and unless I came up with a valid reason, they were going to "sanction" my benefit - which means; cutting it off. I knew I'd missed the appointment, when I'd signed on they told me - all these buggers are linked up on some giant computer.
So I rang my adviser that afternoon, her words to me were: "Oh, maybe I didn't send you out a letter, don't worry, you're getting a new adviser, I'm being promoted, I'll let her know - she's really nice."
The morning after I'd received the threatening letter from the DWP I rang the office that sent it. I explained the nature of my call to be told by the man on the other end - who doesn't know me from Adam, that he has "proof" that I'm not keeping up with my responsibilities. I point out to the man that he should be a little more careful with the language he uses and agree to write them a reply. I ask if there is a time limit, he tells me I have five working days and that I need to contact my provider.
The funny thing is if you need their help, or you're trying to get signed on say, it will take them weeks to sort it out. If they want to cut your benefit off, you have five working days to stop them!
So then I get another letter, this time from my provider telling me of a mandatory appointment warning of dire consequences should I fail to attend. Funny thing is, it is for the day when I am working. I am now working part-time at Poached Creative. My provider knows this. When I ring the new adviser to reappoint it turns out there is no record whatsoever of when I work, although my file does tell her that I am working part-time.
My point is, if the Work Programme providers are employing people who can't cope with sending out letters, can't manage basic record keeping and fail to communicate basic information to their colleagues, how in heaven's name are they going to "give you all the support you need to find and stay in work."?
And this "specialist organisation" promoted this woman!
Friday, 18 May 2012
Bully-boy landlords
My landlord served me seven days notice the other day because I'm in arrears - I wasn't especially worried as he often says this. The amount we're talking about is less than £150!
When I say landlord, I mean one of the two managers of the place where I live. I live in a Bed and Breakfast cum hostel. The deal is that Housing Benefit pay my rent and I pay a surcharge on top of that of £25 per week. This is to cover electricity, heating, hot water and breakfast. (Breakfast is two sausages, two eggs, baked beans and two toast.)
The next time I saw this man he assured me he meant it "this time". It wasn't until I spoke to one of the security people on the front door who forewarned me that Mr X was really gunning for me and had spoken to the lawyers that I became alarmed.
So I took myself down to the jobcentre to use their free phones and phoned the advice people at Shelter. I knew I had very few rights as I only had a licence to live in my room, nothing like a tenancy. I was under the impression that due to the length of my stay, my landlord had to give me more than a week's notice.
When I got through and spoke to one of Shelter's advisers she quickly disabused me of this notion. I didn't have a legal leg to stand on - I had no more rights than a guest in a hotel who hadn't paid the bill! The adviser was able to give chapter and verse on the small claims court in terms of getting my stuff back, and also to point me in the direction of Community Legal Advice for any future difficulties.
So I went back to my room, packed up three boxes of important bits and pieces, stashed these in the room of one of the few people in my B and B I can call a mate, along with my suit and a leather jacket. I then wrote a careful note to the landlord with future payment dates and pondered my lot.
The thing that really pissed me off was that it was so arbitrary, that I could become homeless on just the whim of someone else! Come the morning, nothing happened.
When I say landlord, I mean one of the two managers of the place where I live. I live in a Bed and Breakfast cum hostel. The deal is that Housing Benefit pay my rent and I pay a surcharge on top of that of £25 per week. This is to cover electricity, heating, hot water and breakfast. (Breakfast is two sausages, two eggs, baked beans and two toast.)
The next time I saw this man he assured me he meant it "this time". It wasn't until I spoke to one of the security people on the front door who forewarned me that Mr X was really gunning for me and had spoken to the lawyers that I became alarmed.
So I took myself down to the jobcentre to use their free phones and phoned the advice people at Shelter. I knew I had very few rights as I only had a licence to live in my room, nothing like a tenancy. I was under the impression that due to the length of my stay, my landlord had to give me more than a week's notice.
When I got through and spoke to one of Shelter's advisers she quickly disabused me of this notion. I didn't have a legal leg to stand on - I had no more rights than a guest in a hotel who hadn't paid the bill! The adviser was able to give chapter and verse on the small claims court in terms of getting my stuff back, and also to point me in the direction of Community Legal Advice for any future difficulties.
So I went back to my room, packed up three boxes of important bits and pieces, stashed these in the room of one of the few people in my B and B I can call a mate, along with my suit and a leather jacket. I then wrote a careful note to the landlord with future payment dates and pondered my lot.
The thing that really pissed me off was that it was so arbitrary, that I could become homeless on just the whim of someone else! Come the morning, nothing happened.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
George Osborne video
Please check this out - it is very funny and says so much about our Chancellor!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxBMT0rH9hU
Many thanks to the comedian and writer Wendy Wason who flagged it up to me when she was reviewing the papers on BBC London radio on Sunday morning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxBMT0rH9hU
Many thanks to the comedian and writer Wendy Wason who flagged it up to me when she was reviewing the papers on BBC London radio on Sunday morning.
Monday, 9 April 2012
Idiot boat race protester causes havoc
Protester Trenton Oldfield wreaked havoc at the boat race on Saturday causing it to be halted just over halfway through and then restarted half an hour later as well as placing himself in considerable danger.
He claims, we are told, to be protesting against elitism. The boat race is contested between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Mr Oldfield was educated at public school and has studied at the London School of Economics. So we're not talking a life of deprivation.
Now it's fair to say that I'm fairly anti elitism in our society. OK so I've not been on the front pages of the national press but I would suggest that as a protest against privilege in our society In My Shoes kind of knocks Mr Oldfield into a cocked hat.
He claims, we are told, to be protesting against elitism. The boat race is contested between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Mr Oldfield was educated at public school and has studied at the London School of Economics. So we're not talking a life of deprivation.
Now it's fair to say that I'm fairly anti elitism in our society. OK so I've not been on the front pages of the national press but I would suggest that as a protest against privilege in our society In My Shoes kind of knocks Mr Oldfield into a cocked hat.
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Untapped Skills
Many of us find looking for work daunting enough even if you have the relevant skills or experience for the job. I have a bulging file of rejections and letters letting me know that unfortunately I have not been successful. I even attended an interview for a job that I was overqualified for thinking to myself I’ve got this job in the bag, as a lot of you would, but as with most things in life nothing ever goes according to plan. The interview itself wasn’t too bad it was what the employer said at the end which confused me “I’m sorry but you’re just not what we’re looking for at the moment”. WHAT! I have the relevant skills, I have done this job before so I have experience, I am what you’re looking for.
I came away from the interview like every other one: dejected, angry and relentlessly cursing the fact that I have to go through this every time. But that’s not the end of it because we the jobless still have these skills that are not being taken advantage of and are just going to waste. Like a lot of people, I have experienced homelessness and have gained skills and knowledge throughout the journey and I am becoming quite concerned having talked to a number of homeless and non-homeless people that they share this common grievance.
When asked, a number of people agreed that it seemed as though image was number one priority-not the fact that you are capable of doing the job. I have, in frustration, even resorted to embellishing my CV and skills a little in the hope that it would show me as the best candidate, but never did. Why is it so hard for these employers to accept the fact that OK, you might not have done this kind of work before but it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to do it, the more you do something the easier it becomes until it is second nature-that is the process of learning. To shed some light on this matter I actually spoke to a few employers who remarked that it was down to a few reasons, that companies have a quota to meet on employing people belonging to certain groups (this seems to be about image again not whether they can do the job), but mostly down to the fact that they can’t afford the time or money to train anyone.
I believe that there is something that can be done and networking is the key. We’ve all heard the saying “its not what you know but who you know” and through my own experiences I’ve found that this has never been truer. Being part of an organisation called Camden Calling and meeting the group leader within two years I, along with other members are about to finish the first series of our radio podcast shows and start the second series with internet radio station Recharged Radio, I am currently creating music to put with poetry to record a spoken word album which I will be performing onstage in April along with the videos. So by just meeting the right person a number of doors have opened up.
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