I found myself sanctioned23:19 Sep 23 2013
Times Read: 870
“On the 20th Of September 2013 I found myself sanctioned’, for signing-on a day late.
As the DWP make a decision and, I await the result, I wrote the following and directed it to my local jobcentre Plus manager.”
I have suffered from depression since I was eleven and been diagnosed with manic depression at nineteen. I repeat, diagnosed. I know it’s fashionable for some to say, “I’m bi-polar and proud of it,” but; that’s not my case. I was diagnosed.
And, much of the time I do very well and, I do not use meds now, as I developed other coping mechanisms, which usually work, for me...
But, sometimes I have problems, when someone presses a certain button, or I’m overly stressed and, that happened this week, very much in part due to what was said to me at Wirral Met and how I’d responded to it. This was said at Wirral Met, The Pyramids Birkenhead on Friday 13th, by a lady named Marie at my induction.
At my induction for my mandated course, a very brisk efficient slim blonde lady name of Marie had given us, the class, our talk; discussing our various option and their respective venues. I’d been irked to find out that mine, for Health and Social Studies was in Wallasey; a venue hard to get to before the time needed.
I was told simply, “It’s your responsibility, take it up with your advisor.” Then, when I mentioned signing-on, on a Thursday would mean I’d need to leave early, she’d told me in front of the class, “No you won’t. Class comes first. The college comes before the dole…” That last phrase, ‘The college comes before the dole…’ stuck in my head. And, it became important to me that I got everything sorted for college, before I start my mandated course, on the 26th
Well, with that in mind I spent much of the weekend mapping out the journey and costing it, so that I would not cost anyone ‘too much.’
As it happens, the same lady who made the remark I recalled so well, rang my home on Monday just before 2:00 p.m. “I just wanted to ensure your attendance at college on the 26th…” she had said when I had mentioned my issues with once more and again been told to speak to my advisor. But, I had thanked her for the call and said, “I’ll be in tomorrow and pick up a timetable…”
This had been a phone-call from same woman who said ‘The college comes before the dole…’ and now it became of major import to me to get everything sorted, before Thursday 26th and, that included obtaining a number the college wanted, in respect to my joining the National careers website.
Well, the anxiety I felt led to a severe a panic attack, as I tried, fruitlessly at first, to re-join the website, after having done so once before, to find ‘the number’ another tutor had said was needed, in my induction.
Eventually I succeeded, in doing as I felt needed, but by then I was too late to sign-on.
And, all of this was down to how this “manic-depressive” reacted to a woman saying to me, “College comes before dole.”
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