Category: Parents & Children

11 she was an artist. she dreamed

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Because of her paranoia
she had no television, rarely
used her computer, would often
throw away her mobile phone
and change her number;
she thought it was being bugged.
She had accused her mother
and female neighbours
of being witches, once
accused a woman
walking her dog
of sending messages to the police.
She was unable to shop or cook.
Shopping online was difficult – she did not like
to use the computer, was scared
to open the door.
She would turn up outside her mother’s house
7am
screaming
threatening to burn the house down.
At one stage
she tried to climb the telegraph pole
outside the house.
On several occasions she had run away –
to local woodland, where she had lived for several months;
to Siberia in the middle of winter;
to Israel –
to escape those she believed
were conspiring against her.
She was an artist. She dreamed
of buying
a rundown bungalow
in Cornwall.
She had attempted suicide several times when she was younger;
a demon
in her head
was telling her to take her own life.
For the last year of her life
she had been complaining of extreme fatigue.
She had lived with her mother and step-father for many years,
then for two years in sheltered accommodation nearby,
but was moved into a housing association flat.
The flat was very dirty. No working
appliances, full
of rubbish and filth,
huge holes in the floor,
the dual carriageway
in front of the windows.
All her benefits
had been removed by the Department,
which wrote to tell her
her support was ending
because she had failed to return a form on time.
The Housing Association
sent letters
threatening to evict her.
The Council sent a summons
for unpaid tax.
Her electricity had been
cut off.
During the summer, she visited her mother regularly,
and told her she was surviving
on a sandwich and a cup of coffee a day.
In September, she had a psychotic episode
and again cut off
contact with her mother.
In October, her mother messaged her
that her grandmother had died.
There was no reply.
She was being given injections of flupenthixol
a powerful anti-psychotic
every two weeks.
Later in October,
her non-appearance
for the scheduled injection
failed to be noticed –
the Trust had been significantly under-staffed –
until a new co-ordinator
tried unsuccessfully to contact her,
and alerted the police
a week later.
In March, the Department wrote to her mother
to tell her it would be making a back-payment
from April to the day in November
when the police discovered her body.

[Disability News Service, 08/09/2022, DWP hounded disabled woman for years before her ‘starvation’ death, papers show]

12 the next day she took her five-month-old son in her arms

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Six months after having her income cut off and housing benefit withdrawn
she was sharing her sister’s one-bedroom flat
destitute
with a baby to care for.
32 years old,
a Frenchwoman
living in Britain
since 1997.
In 2008 she graduated
with a degree in philosophy.
She found she was pregnant.
She looked for work.
The Department told her
the fact that she was within 11 weeks of giving birth
disqualified her;
she was not in a fit condition to work.
She was told to apply for income support.
But she had an eight-month period in 2003
when she had been working in a cafe,
and had no records to prove it;
her claim was turned down.
Appealed;
turned down.
She applied for child benefit;
rejected.
Hackney council demanded she repay
200 pounds in housing benefit
she had been given
just as her Jobseeker’s allowance
was being taken away.
She applied to take the Department to tribunal
but repeatedly failed to be given a date
for the hearing.
She was desperate.
Her last attempt to get a date from the tribunal service
took place on 12 June.
The next day she took her five-month-old son in her arms
and jumped from the flat’s sixth-floor balcony.

[The Guardian, 08/01/2010, Comment: Christelle and her baby died at the hands of a callous state]

13 after he left the army

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He joined the army at 17;
served for two years in Belfast, a lance corporal.
After he left the army,
he worked with BT for 16 years, then
different jobs, but left
to care full-time
for his mother
who had dementia.
After she went into a home
he looked for work,
took two unpaid placements
(he was denied a third)
but his benefits were stopped
when he missed an appointment at the Jobcentre.
He was diabetic. Without support
he couldn’t afford to eat
or put credit
on his electricity card
to keep the fridge working
where he kept his insulin.
On the day he died
of diabetic ketoacidosis
he had three pounds forty-four pence,
six tea bags, a tin
of soup and a can of sardines
(out of date),
no food in his stomach,
and a pile of CVs
next to his body.

[The Daily Mirror, 27/07/2014, Killed by benefits cuts; The Guardian, 09/09/2014, David Clapson’s awful death was the result of grotesque government policies]

14 she was no longer allowed to work

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After her leave to remain expired
she was no longer allowed to work.
She claimed asylum,
was relying on food from friends
and charities.
No one had heard from her for four days.
Her one-year-old son
weakened from starvation
was found by police
crying
beside her body.

[Herald Scotland, 25/08/2020, Mum ‘found dead beside starving one-year-old baby’ in Glasgow flat]

15 he sat in his car in a quiet country lane

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He was twenty thousand pounds
in debt. Payday loans;
one thousand per cent interest.
His children told their grandmother
Santa hadn’t come the year before.
A single dad, he quit his job in a factory to look after his children, but fell behind with rent
and with trying to feed and clothe them.
He had four pounds sixty one pence
in his account, waiting for the benefit;
there is an average five-week wait for the first payment.
He had been served an eviction notice.
He sat in his car in a quiet country lane,
crying.

[Metro, 21/07/2019, Dad, 34, took his own life after wait for Universal Credit left him with £4.61; Daily Mirror, 20/07/2019, Single dad with just £4.61 took own life after waiting weeks for Universal Credit]

16 one evening in August

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He has a mental health problem.
He takes triple medication.
He reports self harm in the past.’
He was assessed in May.
‘He attempted an overdose six weeks ago
but he would not say what he took.’
In June, the Department told him
he was fit to work,
and that his support was being
withdrawn.
‘The evidence overall suggests
that he is not at substantial risk.’
In an appeal letter, he wrote:
‘I disagree with your decision.’
He had worked cleaning buses
for three years
but he could not cope.
‘I have serious mental health problems
that prevent me from doing everyday tasks
which means I cannot work at this moment in time.’
He was placed on strong medication
but his mental health had worsened:
sleeplessness, memory loss, paranoia.
He would claim people were trying to poison him.
He thought the police were following him.
‘I did try and explain this
to the medical examiner.’
He was informed in July of the Department’s final say.
They backed the decision.
One evening in August
he got a bus to the Forth Road Bridge
walked to the middle
and jumped.
He was recovered from the water
but that night in hospital
he died.
His father believes
he may have been a schizophrenic.
Since his death
his mother had been in hospital,
not eating.
The Department sent their sympathies to the family.

[Daily Record, 22/09/2013, Heartbroken dad blames benefits axemen for driving his ill son to commit suicide]

17 when questioned afterwards

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When questioned afterwards
the assessor claimed he couldn’t remember
if he had made any phone calls
to their son’s doctor or psychiatrist
for information about his mental health.
‘He reports self harm
in the past.
He reports he attempted an overdose
six weeks ago;
he would not say
what he took.
He reports he has had no thoughts
of suicide since.
The evidence overall suggests
he is not at substantial risk.’
The decision
was confirmed in a letter.
A month later
he took his own life.
His father said his son’s mental health
had deteriorated in the last couple of years
but he had previously been able to work intermittently
in agriculture
and labouring.
His final job was cleaning buses.
He was taking strong medication
anti-psychotics,
anti-depressants,
was experiencing
paranoid delusions.
His father said
‘his mind was gone’
He remembers finding his son’s assessment report
and his other official paperwork
scattered over the floor of his flat
after he died.
Several weeks later
Department officials
visited the family.
‘They said
“I don’t suppose it will help now
but we have reversed the decision.”’

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

19 explosion in the Sangin region

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She received income support
after suffering an accident at work in 2003.
In 2009 her son was killed in Afghanistan;
explosion in the Sangin region.
She received a death in service payment:
66,000.
She found a letter from the Department
telling her the money
made her ineligible to claim support
after she returned from a remembrance service.

[Ledbury Reporter, 19/11/2010, Soldier’s mother in suspense over benefits claim]

33 the most frugal existence

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He suffered
countless attacks
throughout his life;
he would fall
like a tree
to the ground.
He suffered
from meningitis
at five months old.
It left him brain damaged;
severe epilepsy.
He had his first attack when he was six.
Despite heavy medication
he was taken to hospital regularly.
He worked until he was 30,
but his condition was so severe
he had to leave.
He did not know when a fit would come.
Completely random.
He never went ten days without one.
He had suffered
a broken nose
cheekbone
jaw.
He had lost his front teeth.
He had split his head open
after hitting the pavement
during attacks.
He received a letter in March.
He had to attend a
‘work related activity group’
or his benefits could be cut.
He appealed:
‘I have never
been able to work
due to my epilepsy.
I had a job
but I lost my job
because they could no longer cope
with my attacks.’
The next letter, in June, informed him
his appeal had been rejected.
His family struggled to gain
detailed medical records
of his hospital visits
to make a second appeal.
He was given a month to get the information.
He became more and more worried.
On the day
his parents went round
for him to sign the appeal letter.
He had saved up enough to buy his own home.
His family helped him
make it safe,
a specially made bed, cushions
scattered to break any falls,
child-safe furniture.
With the help of benefits
he lived an independent life.
The door was open.
The curtains were closed.
He had been alone for 19 years.
He did not drink, smoke,
had the most frugal existence.
He did gardening,
wood work,
love bird watching, photography,
walking.
His parents went into the house
and found him
hanging in his bedroom.

[Daily Mirror, 23/09/2014, Man with brain damage and ‘uncontrolled’ epilepsy hanged himself when DWP threatened to cut benefits]

38 a beautiful sense of humour

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A government scientist,
he gave up this role
when he was diagnosed
with severe cardiomyopathy,
failure of the heart muscle.
By the end
he could not walk,
struggled to read.
He often fell over,
on one occasion
smashing his teeth.
Doctors gave him
a year and a half to live.
They were urging him
to have a heart transplant
to prolong his life.
He loved cricket
cooking, had
a beautiful sense of humour;
a classically trained musician,
he loved Beethoven.
He wouldn’t have the transplant.
He had no commitments,
thought it would be better
if there was a heart
for it to go
to somebody else.
He developed a brain tumour.
A government contractor
gave him a fitness-to-work test.
Three months later
his support was stopped.
He initially challenged the decision
but the appeal was withdrawn;
he felt too ill
to fight.
He couldn’t play the piano
he was so ill.
His mother passed away.
Seven months later
he fell at home
and never regained consciousness.

[Daily Mirror, 10/04/2014, Atos judges dying scientist fit to work – despite serious heart condition and brain tumour]

40 a decision was taken

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His daughter received a text
and immediately knew something was wrong.
The decision was taken
despite being told by his doctor
he was too sick to return to his job.
(He had been a painter and decorator.)
He had suffered from anxiety and depression
for six years. He also had
breathing problems
caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The Department had written to him
a year earlier
requesting a consultation in July.
Four days before the medical
he attended his doctor’s surgery
in a state of panic.
He was declared fit to work.
Following the decision
he lodged an appeal
but it was rejected.
His support was stopped in November.
December. His daughter had been planning
to help him take his case to a tribunal,
but she had had to leave him
to go Christmas shopping
and to pick up her children,
when she received the text.
‘I love you.’
She found him
and performed CPR
before calling an ambulance.
Three days later
a decision was taken
to turn off his life support.

[Inews, 06/06/2019, Chronically ill father died by suicide after DWP declared him fit to work and cut his benefits]