Life Changing Decisions

 

Tuition fee RESIDENCY Rules

Life changing decisions

Written by - Zizi Orji

We believe everyone living in Scotland should have equal rights and opportunities,

regardless of their immigration status.

·       On arriving in Scotland seeking asylum, people are keen to contribute to life here.  Professional qualifications gained in our home country are often however not recognised.

·        Many of us wish to further our studies either in a new sphere or to ratify our existing qualifications.  SAAS (Student Awards Agency Scotland) funding is available to pay tuition fees and more for those who have settled status as set out in the Immigration Act 1971.

·       However, although the Home Office has given us limited leave to remain in the UK, many people discover they are not able to take up offers of Further and Higher Educations as they do not qualify for SAAS funding due to their immigration status. 

·       This has been the case for those who have not yet been granted indefinite leave to remain by the Home Office and are on the long residence (10 year settlement) route and must reapply for permission to stay every 30 months. 

According to SAAS, to apply for funding applicants must have settled status as set out in the Immigration Act 1971.  This excludes all apart from those awarded leave to remain as a result of an asylum application.

·       Although immigration status is determined by the Home Office, the Scottish Government has control over Education and has the power to change the policy of who qualifies for SAAS funding.

·       There are no UK legal impediments or prohibitions against extending access to funding.

In In our recent campaign we have been asking that the Scottish Government lives up to its laudable human rights commitments and extends access to SAAS funding to those granted limited leave to remain on the 10 year settlement route who are required to renew their leave to remain at 30 month periods.  

Hundreds of students from migrant families has been affected by tuition fees residency rules including myself, Glory and Olivia.

For many years, we have been campaigning, doing surveys and newspaper publications and also working alongside the PTC. Several productive meetings were organised and held with the minister of higher education where we discussed inequality in education and barriers that existed for people with certain immigration status, asylum seekers and adults who wants to continue their studies.

The fact that these has been campaigned on for many years and people were not listened to, the Scottish government continued to introduce schemes that favoured other categories such as Ukrainians and Syrian interpreters to get funding.

Studying, gaining qualifications and pursing ambitions are a major part of rebuilding our lives after a long wait for the Home Office response.

Glory was also backed by JustRight Scotland to call for SAAS funding to be made available to everyone like her.

The highlight of the campaign was that even if the home office determined the status of individuals the Scottish government has the power over education and can change the policies.

Recently myself , Glory ,Olivia and Elaine had a meeting with the Scottish Government and SAAS and a payment scheme has been drawn out to cover payments to students in the year 2021-2023, and hopefully it goes on in the near future.

 

Filled to the Brim

 

Over the past two years, members of Poverty Truth groups in Glasgow and Greater Manchester have been taking part in a collaborative research project with Wren Radford from the University of Manchester about everyday experiences of poverty and inequality.

The project came about through conversations with Poverty Truth members about the way that aspects of their experiences can often be labelled and categorised, and then separated out from each other as being ‘about’ food poverty or homelessness or mental health. We wanted to explore what happens when we start by reflecting on people’s everyday experiences – both how inequalities play out in daily life, but also the ordinary actions that people take every day to survive, challenge, and change inequality.

We began the research will a small steering group helping to design how the research would work. We recognised that during covid, many of our usual methods of meeting over a cuppa wouldn’t work! So we decided on using creative journals for people to record their thoughts and reflections, alongside small group workshops over Zoom.

Everyone interested in taking part was sent a journal, and art pack, and some prompts. People were invited to write, draw, collage, or voice record their responses. We then met over Zoom in small groups, to share and listen with each other. In these sessions we would respond to a couple of prompts about our daily lives; people would write, draw, or think for a few minutes on their own before sharing what they wished to with the rest of the group. There was laughter and tears, and a lot of encouragement for each other in what was being shared. In the groups, people expressed that it was good to have time to hear each other, and that sometimes it can be useful to take time to explore the various aspects and complexities of our daily lives. We spoke about the importance of seeing the differences but also the resonances between our experiences.

Out of these conversations and journaling, the group has produced a creative resource book ‘Filled to the Brim’. The book reflects the creative expressions that people bring to their ordinary lives and offers a space to engage with a range of different experiences that make up each of our days. We are hoping to share this to encourage and inspire our conversations, creativity, and action in addressing the impact of poverty and inequality.

The pages in the book are digital re-creations of journal pages or discussions in the workshops. This gave us the opportunity to reflect on what we wanted to share, and how to present the differences and continuities in our perspectives. We also wanted to avoid the sense that anyone can claim to fully know us directly by looking through the booklet. Rather, we advocate for continuing to listen to and learn with one another and that collaborating to address inequality requires space and time to get to know the complexities and creativities of people’s ordinary lives.  As one of the pages in Filled to the Brim reads:

‘These journals partly reflect that

there’s more to our lives

than what people think of

as ‘poverty’.

 

We still live,

we still have our lives.

The poverty is always there,

like a backdrop,

to the daily goings on

we have as human beings.

 

Life is not

a static thing.’

 

On Tuesday the 27^th September we will be holding an online launch for the book, where you can hear more about the project process, and for you to discuss some of your initial responses to the book. PTC will also be working with printed copies of the book over the coming year. You can register for the launch on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/filled-to-the-brim-launch-tickets-412748290247

 

You can also view the digital copy of Filled to the Brim here:

http://lincolntheologicalinstitute.com/filled-to-the-brim/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADA LOVELACE FOUNDATION

DIGITAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES

 

by Brian Scott

 

Hi, guys I’ve been asked to produce a short blog outlining the field research being done between the APLE Collective and the Ada Lovelace Foundation.  So who are the Ada Lovelace Foundation?  

Well, they put it a lot better than I can:-

About Ada Lovelace

The Ada Lovelace Institute was established by the Nuffield Foundation in early 2018, in collaboration with the Alan Turing Institute, the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Royal Statistical Society, the Wellcome Trust, Luminate, techUK and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

Ada Lovelace (1815–52) has been adopted globally as a trailblazer for women in maths and science; the daughter of Romantic poet Lord Byron, she was educated by her mother Anne Isabella Noel Byron to excel in mathematics. Her most influential work and writings were produced in relation to Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, designed in 1837.

The Project is looking at the Digital Divide and the issues raised, and problems encountered during and post Covid Pandemic for example, when trying to contact your GP and other health services in the community.

The participants have been asked to be Peer Researchers which means that for us taking part, we take an active role in collecting data through interviews which are very much interviewee-led and then passing the information to the researchers at the Ada Lovelace Foundation for assimilation in their overall research. (very Borg-like statement (Trekkie reference or to be really annoying a ‘Trekker’ reference).

We have already had 2 workshops already, one face-to-face (good pens and notepads but rhubarb flavoured shortbread!!!!).  The second was held over  Zoom.

The first meeting was more of an overview and introduction to research and icebreaker between all the participants.  The second we a more in-depth look a:-

u what questions to ask

u how to ask the questions (open questioning rather than closed questioning)

u how to make the interviewee comfortable and turn the interaction into more of a conversation rather than a Q&A session.

As the research goes on than I’m sure myself and the other participants will keep you up-to-date with how the research is going and, you never know, if you’ve been really good and not ended up on the ‘naughty list’ you could be asked to be interviewed or even become a Peer Researcher yourself.

 

Brian Scott

May 2022

Little Stones, Large Cairns

Earlier this month we were delighted to host an open conversation  ‘Little Stones, Large Cairns’ sharing the story of the United Nations International day for the Eradication of Poverty - hearing from folk across the UK and around the world about what the day means to them.

Patrick in New York shared his experience of speaking at the United Nations and we are delighted he has given permission for us to share his words with you here.

 

Patrick Lubin – New York – 6 October 2021

Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for the invitation to celebrate with you today, for me it is a great honor.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is important for me because it is a commemorative day to honor all the victims of poverty and to celebrate all the people fighting to eradicate poverty in the world. It is a gathering all around the world, all of us who have suffered of poverty together with all that are fighting to end poverty. It is a moment of meditation to make silence to honor all the victims of poverty. For me it is as well a day to remember Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World.

I remember very vividly the first time I went to the United Nations. Christelle, a friend, invited me to the commemoration on October 16, 2015.

For me, who has defended people all my live before living in the street,  when I spoke at the UN on October 17 2016, it was to represent all the people that, like myself have suffered in the street. It was an opportunity to honor the fight of these people.  I have witnessed all this and I have to be there, I have to participate.

I got into this fight because we are representing ourselves, our families, our communities and ATD Fourth World. We represent people around us, even if we don’t know them. We are engaged in the same fight to stop poverty, to bring awareness to churches, mosques and temples, to reduce inequalities, to stop human rights violations,  to change the laws.

To stop poverty in the world we have to get involved, I feel if I am not there I am missing something crucial. I have to be here and fight because we need to defend the right to be respected, to housing, to food and we need to end humiliation.

Being present and feeling welcomed at the United Nations is a huge honor for me, especially to have the right to speak. It is a powerful privilege to address my speech to the world, to explain what I went through while living in extreme poverty and what a challenge is to survive.

Not everybody has the possibility to speak at the UN. It is because of the work of ATD Fourth World that we can speak at the UN so I spoke representing ATD Fourth World.

October 17 is a day to celebrate, at the UN we are present with our power to make people understand and become aware that there is another world where people suffer and are traumatized because of poverty. Society mainly doesn’t care, we are mistreated and humiliated. So we are there to stop humiliation and represent our people.

When Kim spoke at the UN for the first time, for her, for us, it is a lot of pain but it give us the chance to change what people think about poverty, what we can do better to stop poverty so that people understand and have knowledge of what poverty is, what kind of traumas we go through. Thanks Fighting poverty is a kind of war for us.

At the UN we want to send a message and there we feel we are not alone because people are there with their heart and intelligence to support us to eradicate poverty.

 

We are there to advocate for people who don’t have the possibility to speak, to be heard, so that we are not forgotten. If you speak at the UN you speak to the world.

 

Having the commemorative stone at the UN for me means to remember for ever October 17, 1987 when father Joseph Wresinski inaugurated the stone in Paris and when later the day was recognized the day to honor the victims of poverty.

I remember when I used to go with my father to the memorial to honor the victims of war, the stone is the same, it is a monument to honor people in poverty. Poverty is a war because it is killing people.

The stone is a place to be all together to respect and take a moment of silence for the victims of poverty.

Universal Credit Cut - Keep the Lifeline!

 This month our blog post comes from Rose - urging the government to stop the £20 cut to Universal Credit and keep the lifeline.

"Having a devastating and difficult illness such as complex post traumatic stress, any changes made in my life can be catastrophic. They trigger fear and uncertainty, even if it's 'just' £20.

The letters with those words sent through to me with this information cause fear and alarm and I wonder how am I going to survive. Often times, I'll try to sleep through it, to hide from the reality of another cut, another psychological and financial adjustment.

Having many skills, and having pushed through so many obstacles to qualify, I feel disqualified and unable to add to my already dwindling financial support. I would love to , but find myself in periods of illness where it's too difficult to even function, let alone work again.

 £20' is a shop for me, a few dinners shrewdly calculated, still wondering and fearful if I'll have enough at the checkout.  Always "will I have enough?",

The reduced produce is always my go to, reduced flowers I can nurture back to life, gives me some sort of purpose and joy to see the beauty of their colour filling my sparce but safe home.

It's not just a figure to me, it's an engrained part of my survival. It's my safety net from dropping completely into poverty, giving my son my food, as I often go hungry.

The '£20' is more than money to me, it's so considered to me in my life as I have to budget every single detail. It's my train fare to places like the Poverty Truth Commission, for tea and a sandwich and human contact, human concern, interaction and a strength given to go on.

It's sterling money, but it's my absolute lifeline, without it, I see the deficit, I feel it also in many different ways.

Psychologically, if it's there and it's in my bank, i know I can use it for so many different things for survival. Like an elastic band, I can stretch that '£20', because poverty has made me innovative, it's shown me another way. The depression, the fear, the shame, the discouragement of never really having enough to pay the gas bill, for a bed for my son, for the constant struggle, fatigue and apathy for life have no room in my life, they can't, if they do, I'm beat, I give up.

So I'd like to keep that '£20' it's change in your pocket, not considered a lot at all, maybe you've never considered the real impacts of the cuts on real people's lives.

People like me, who despite continually swimming against the current, with '£20', I can do so much. It buys me a life boat and oars to swim in that current of life.

Being in many situations where I've had absolutely nothing and someone gives me '£20', I've won the lottery, my lifeline has returned. I can provide dinner, can feed my therapy dogs, and I can buy those stunningly beautiful flowers blooming brightly and bringing light, bringing joy, hope and  creativity. It brings a safety, that the household are fed a meal, that we have light for another day, there's money in the meter for another day, there's bread on the table for another day.

And there's peace momentarily

One purple note brings all of this. It's removal does only the opposite, the deficit.

One single '£20', does so much more than you think.

So do please think, of the families deeply affected, plunged even deeper into poverty and hopelessness.

Your '£20' which is mere change in your pocket is not just sterling fiscal money.

It's a vital means of survival.

It's a hope installer

It heats a home

It feeds who dwells there.

It's so much more than just sterling money. It's just that you don't realise it.

If you did, you would return it to its rightful owner......

Mice Have Rights too

This month's blog post comes from Carol T, 

a reflection on standing up for your rights.

I was inspired to write this poem after the Poverty Truth meeting on Human Rights. 

 I have mice in my flat just now and have had mice and/or rats for the last 4 years.  In one of the clips we were watching about housing rights someone had mice in their home and it made me think about mine.  I've ended up putting up with them all this time, even though I'm terrified of mice!

When were asked at the end of the meeting to each say what we were going away thinking about, I said 'Mice have rights too!', just trying to be funny.  But then I started thinking about what it is like for the mice and how I don't stand up for my human rights, so it's me that hasn't got a back bone! 

It's scared.  I'm scared.  Writing this poem helped me to look at how I was really feeling.

Mice have Rights too

What about me?

I've a right to remain

I don’t have a name

But my rights are the same.

 

I've got mouths to feed

Stomachs are empty

Only poison to eat.

Scraps are plenty, Plenty of rights!

I don’t make much sound

I'm as quick as a flash

Shadows are glanced in the blink of an eye

As I scamper by.

Your screams, screeches pierce through my ears

You frighten, scare me I'm full of fear

Brothers and sisters dead on the trap

Slowly die as they eat the poisonous crap.

 

What about me ?

I've a right to remain

I don’t have no name

But my rights are the same.

 

A safe place to stay a crumb from your table

Trying to keep my family stable

You try to destroy me you turn a blind eye

Laugh at your phobia call me Vermin.

Dirty evil spineless creature

I cant help my nature.

What about my voice I want to be heard

Listen to my life my family dead

Its quick you say just a snap to the neck

Or a slow poisonous deep sleep what a cheek!

Where else can I go you’ve taken my habitat

Built homes, flats, knocked down our turf

Well weve had enough squattins our game

Treat us with kindness be humane.

You’re the spineless one you cant say No!

Accepting conditions has become your to go

Jumping at the slightest noise

That’s your choice

Take a leaf out of my book

Stand up for your rights just look.

Open your eyes open your ears

Accepting humiliation for years

Fight learn gain knowledge you see

Stop blaming me Stop blaming me. 

 

What about me

I've a right to remain

I don’t have a name

But my rights are the same.

 

 Human Rights and Poverty

Our conversations the last few weeks have frequently been around human rights and poverty and this Monday our Poverty Truth Conversation focused in on the issue, welcoming friends from ATD 4th World and Making Rights real into the conversation.

In this month's blog Caroline who has long been campaigning for the Right to Food shares some of her thoughts.

"The Government need to move away from a charity model of food provision  ie. food banks and ensure that people are not at the mercy of the benefit system to feed themselves.

This is why we should all support the campaign of  enshrining the right to food in Scots law.  If it was successful it  would  guide the Scottish Government on developing strategies to tackle food insecurity based on human rights.    

 This would achieve food equality for all.   We would know this has been realised  when everyone has physical and economic access to food.

Human  rights are every ones rights.  We must all challenge the Government when they are failing."

You can find out more about the Right to Food Campaign here:   The Right to Food Campaign - Nourish Scotland

      

Introducing Stories of Hope

 

Our blog this month comes from Zizi, introducing us to our recently launched booklet 'Stories of Hope - Finding Asylum'.

My name is Ezinna Orji, Zizi as am fondly called. I actually inspired this Stories of Hope booklet with other ladies. I was an asylum seeker and passed through the process though with challenges but now am a community practitioner that empowers others that are in the process .

 

It all started from the accent as everything was wee in Glasgow, then to communicating, housing, access to health care, basic amenities -

and where to access these information to get us settled.

 

It was a bit of struggle because the asylum stigma was there. But with time I realised that there was great assistance only if we got through to the right channel.

 

The thought of telling our stories in a comic way brought about the creation of this book so as to enable both people that can and can’t read to see that there is hope.

 

When things happen in your life, you have three choices. You can either let it define you, let it destroy you or you can let it strengthen you.  And I choose strength. 

 

This booklet is just to let those in the process know that there is a lot to access and help while in the asylum process like education, getting to know your community, making friends, bonding and bridging gaps, sharing your stories to empower others and also volunteering to give you added advantage to becoming self-confident.

 

For me I have always been hopeful. Our eyes are in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look backwards.

 

Past is a waste-paper, present is a newspaper, and the future is a question paper. Come out of your past, control the present, and secure the future.

 

This is not just a story of hope but reality to being happy.

You can read the beautiful booklet of welcome we created here:

https://issuu.com/magictorchcomics/docs/stories_of_hope_digital_

 

 

 

 

 

My Story of Hope

 

                    Our latest blog post comes from Jackie, reflecting on her story of hope.

 My story of hope is one that begins with my journey from being a mum, living in poverty, and trying to heal and sustain myself through campaigning for a better world.  

The Poverty Truth Community empowered me by listening to me, acting with me, and believing in me; giving me the hope, strength, and guidance I needed to eventually find a job working with communities to create sustainable food systems.  

This work has been both fulfilling and transformative for me, and my journey is very much reflected in the opening words that I compiled for the 17th October event in George Square, Glasgow, which the PTC gave me the opportunity to host in 2015.  

The theme was: ‘Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination’, and, while my words captured some of the anguish I experienced as a mum living with poverty, they also provided hope for the future, which is what I have now:  Here is a summary:

Today we live in a frenzied, consumerist world and the beneficiaries of it are but a privileged few.  Yet consumerism has a way of convincing us that it benefits everyone.  We are told that we have freedom of choice, everything at our fingertips, we can have things right here and right now and, if we work hard enough, we can have anything we want and we need.  

This is the myth of consumerism.  The reality is that the cost of living is rising and the incomes of the poorest are being reduced; many are debt-ridden, battling illness/disability, discriminated against, working long, anti-social and low-paid jobs, and sacrificing precious time with their family and friends with little to show for it.  People are breaking their backs to achieve the impossible and then they get stigmatised for not trying hard enough.

Consumerism is a powerful machine, charging through communities, leaving shattered lives and broken people in its wake.  It is having a devastating effect on the environment and exacerbates poverty around the world.  But there are signs here and globally that the time is ripe to reverse some of the damage that has been done.  Sustainable development, in short, is:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  From the World Commission on Environment and Development’s (the Brundtland Commission) report Our Common Future (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987). 

All over we see grass roots efforts in the shape of social enterprises, eco-groups, community activism, charities, churches and new approaches to community development that are linking people to their environment and communities in ways we have never seen before.   

Through sustainable development we can take the control of our future, and that of the generations who follow us, out of the hands of the privileged few who are driving consumerism, and into the hands of the people who have been affected by it.  

We are the ones who know the truth about how consumerism influences us; how it causes and contributes to poverty, environmental degradation, inequality, and discrimination.  We are the ones who can raise awareness of the damage it does to ordinary human beings trying, against the odds to live together harmoniously in communities here and the world over.  

Through sustainable development we can take small steps as individuals and communities to resist, transform and overcome.  

Jackie Stockdale

 

 

 

 

 

My Skiphat

 

I came across this boy one day. 

Begging for pennies to keep hunger at bay. 

His skiphat at his feet.

His hair cut short and neat.

I just stood and looked .

Why don't you go home to your mum I said.

'Mrs,' he said, 'I cant go home, 

You see the drugs have entered my bones.

Every day I sit with my Skiphat at my feet.

Missing my Mum and home, 

Missing my hugs because of the drugs.

'Tell your weans,

 Use your brains don't be a mug.

Stay away from drugs.

Smack give it a wack.

Es turns you into a dirty wee Bs.

Hash can't you see its trash.

Blues will land you in prison blues.

'Listen to me...

 My story is true, 

With my Skiphat at my feet.   

My hairs no longer neat.

My arms, legs, face is so skinny.'

Hold on to your life, cause I no longer have mine.

My Mum's got me home.

My Skiphat no longer at my feet.

It's on my Head now.

My hair's short and neat.

'YES that's my boy'

My Mum tells all.

'Yes that's my boy lying there in his Coffin'. 

Cath Wallace

Dear Little Black Child

 

Dear Little Black Child, 

I’m sorry that I have to tell you this but you’ll need to know eventually. 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet but your skin is dark. 

No it’s not dirty and no it’s not ugly. 

But because your skin is darker there are sadly many people in the world who believe that because you have more melanin it means you are less human. 

They believe you don’t deserve a chance to live and have less worth than a rock. 

Since they believe this they have tried every possible way to make your life harder. 

Made it so in America 50% of people arrested are black even though there are only 13% of black people in America. 

Made it so you have a harder time getting jobs, made it so when police come you’re scared they’re gonna hurt you, made it so when your in hospital doctors don’t treat you as seriously “because you have a higher pain tolerance”, made it so that when people think of slaves they think of you.

Little black child you will never know the privilege of being the standard, of being the default doll colour or the typical protagonist in a book. To see proper representation of yourself is hard and I don’t mean the black best friend or the ghetto black girl. 

To live in a world where your colour does not define you is what our people have been fighting for for hundreds of years, that’s right hundreds, you’d think things would have changed by now. 

People say slavery was abolished years ago but that’s not true. Sure we’re not in the fields picking cotton anymore, but we are being systematically oppressed. 

Little black child I’m so so sorry that you have to deal with this, that we all have to deal with this. 

But don’t worry. 

With protests and petitions and education we will fix this. 

So that you don’t need to worry about police brutality or racism. 

So that the labels that have been nailed to us can be burned. 

We’ve waited a long time but it’s coming. 

With love,

C.J. Adebayo 

(age 15)

SOS - Lack of Care

 

This weeks blog post comes from one of our Community Members, Susan, in which she shares a story that she found shocking outside of a local accident and emergency wing of a hospital in Scotland early Summer.

"I was appalled, for this man who had just had a stroke, it was COVID 19, 10 o'clock at night, -1 degrees, and he was just left there to go and find his way home. Left there with nothing."

 Susan lives in Glasgow and is a grandmother, carer and active in her local community. She is a community member with The Poverty Truth Community and a board member of Faith in the Community Scotland. She also a member of the UK co-research team as part of a 3 year international participatory research project in partnership with Oxford University looking at Understanding Poverty in All Its Forms. Susan is currently involved in a collaborative project with, ATD Fourth Word, Amnesty International and Just Fair.

'I had been up at accident and emergency with my dad. I wasn't allowed to go in obviously because of the COVID 19. So I had to wait outside. While I was outside (I was there for a while) different people were coming back and forth. 

I went inside the hospital doors because it was absolutely freezing that night, it was really really cold. There's a phone on the wall that you use for the taxi service. So a man came out and he's on the phone and I can hear him and he's saying “but my partner will come down, I'll stay in the car, whatever, I don't have the card, I don't have any money, but the money's in the house, I had to go straight to hospital, I've left everything in the house,” and then he's put the phone back and just put his hands up.   

I said “is he no giving you a taxi” and he said, I've no got a bank card with me and I've no got any money so they'll no book me a taxi they'll no get me one.”

Luckily before I left the house, I had put £10 in my pocket and I thought I'll just give him the £10 so I said take this money. He was refusing and he was saying I cannae take the money.  I said, look take the money. He proceeded to tell me how he'd been in the hospital that day cos he'd took a stroke and I could see by his face and that he'd took a stroke. It was quite clear. I was actually appalled by the fact that he was just released from hospital.  It was COVID 19, it was 10 o'clock at night, it was -1 degrees in our Summer and he was just left to go find his way home. 

And I was shocked at the taxi service  who weren't very understanding and wouldn't let the taxi come either. And I just feel that it was really quite brutal and he was left, it was late at night, everything is deserted, even if he had bus fare, buses weren't running as they normally would, so he could have waited, and he couldn't get a direct bus from where he was anyway, and he'd just took a stroke.

 I was really shocked about the whole set up and I thought I can't believe that somebody was released after being in hospital with a stroke and just left and that nobody checked that he had the money to get home, they didn't finish off the service they were giving him. He was left there with nothing.

I was just glad he took my money and we phoned and the lassie called him a taxi and that was him he got home I imagine okay. But the whole thing to me I thought was just really appalling that just the lack of care, just the lack of care.'

Covid Refections

 Our latest blog comes from a friend of The Poverty Truth Community - reflecting on what we have learned so far from Covid 19 and our experiences of lock down,

"The Scottish government did the right thing when they announced on March 23rd 2020 that the country was going into lockdown.  It was crucial to protect our elderly and vulnerable from the global pandemic of coronavirus . After all this was a new virus. No one knew how it was going to affect any of us and the transmission is spread easily and very quickly.  

Prior to the country going into lockdown we had the schools close early to protect our young children from passing this virus on to vulnerable relatives .  Home schooling was to be the new way of working. What they didn’t take into account was the children who did not have internet access . How was this going to work out? The guidelines were “Do not go out unless it is essential to do so”, “Do not go into another household” and the elderly and those with underlying health conditions had to shield and have not to go outdoors .  This would have left many families who were dependent on their children grandparents and other family members  and friends  without that support .  

We never realised until this pandemic  how much home internet  would become very vital . When we are on a low income and already plunged into poverty, having  broadband connection simply was not an affordable option .  “You  can collect home work from the school” they said. They were so many pitfalls to this.  If you are in the shielding group we are told “Stay indoors”. How can they then go to the school to collect homework?  What if the school wasn’t in walking distance?  We were told “Essential travel only” . We couldn’t leave young children with grandparents because they were shielding.   We had charity organisations working alongside  low income families working within a budget  trying to  stretch their money as far as they can while having to make difficult decisions .  These organisations  were applying for emergency funding to help families get connected to the internet  and to buy a device for the  families in order that the children were not left behind .

While the lock down was absolutely necessary to contain the virus and stop the spread .  Some people started panic buying  food and especially toilet rolls,  kitchen roll, soaps and detergents like bleach and disinfectant. Shops were forced to restrict how many we could buy at any one time . The panic buying also meant  if we could not  get the items we wanted in one shop we had to travel to multi shops, which of course posed a greater risk of infection.

Again lack of internet at home or like the elderly who had never done an online shop had no other option but to physically go to the shops . When they were at a greater risk of becoming really unwell with the virus .   Delivery slots were being booked weeks in advance so even if anyone shielding had the capability of  doing online shopping they couldn’t wait up to a month or longer for a  delivery when they had to feed themselves and families . 

Hand sanitiser was another item that was near impossible to buy with some companies increasing the prices as much as 3 times or more in many stores of the original value  pre- pandemic. The same with face masks and surgical gloves .  NHS  workers in hospitals , care homes and caring for the elderly at home still had to work , hand sanitiser was crucial for them while they traveled into work and back home. Working with the most vulnerable they just could not afford to risk catching the virus and transmitting it to vulnerable patients .  There are of course more than nurses and Carers who are essential workers.  

We have the supermarket workers who had no protection  at a time when Covid 19 was at its peak and the police who had to implement safety measures to keep us all safe. Fire and ambulance services could not work from home , which was the default position of the Scottish governments guidelines .  Panic buying also saw food banks not having the donations that they normally receive and depend on for families who rely on this service . This was a very worrying time for both the food bank providers and the families . They could not afford to bulk buy food to keep them going through the pandemic  when we are already living from day to day .

What we also seen through this most difficult time was the way communities came together to support each other .  Emergency food parcels were delivered to those who were most in need of them . We saw money being raised for charities by people walking around their gardens , clap for the carers at 8pm on a Thursday evening , and  fantastic videos of grandchildren doing social distance dancing with grandparents outside their houses.  It has brought people and communities closer than ever before . It has shone a light on how when it is needed, we gather our strength and courage to look out for each other .  Communities have forged relationships  that weren’t there before the lockdown . The elderly and vulnerable where checked in on - socially distanced of course . The bond of these  new relationships  will be still be in place long after the pandemic is gone .

 As we gradually  come out of lockdown and the future is uncertain. Our economy is taking a big hit with businesses not being able to survive lockdown even with the job retention scheme , created by the UK government to keep people in work and the UK government paying 80% of the wages . It is now winding down and will end on October the 31st of this year , including help for the self employed.   

What we also saw was children who would have free school meals . Depending on what local authority in Scotland you came under, Glasgow and others issued vouchers for Farmfoods while Edinburgh gave direct cash payments into the accounts of the families on a low income using the data they already held. During the early closure of the schools , and when the school summer holidays arrived, the Scottish government  kept the scheme going with some councils like Glasgow  switching to direct cash payment. After being put under pressure from charity organisations  calling for this to happen, Glasgow gave the payment along with the school clothing grant , while Edinburgh made the payments every two weeks to ensure that families could stock up on meals throughout the school holidays . The UK government also created the eat out to help out scheme. Where throughout August, we could dine out on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and have a discount of 50% up to £10 worth of food and soft drinks . This is to help the hospitality sector keep vital jobs for their workers . This is only good if we have the money to dine out in the first place and many families are not able to take advantage of the offer .

We all want to live a caring society and both the UK and Scottish governments have provided us with that during the pandemic and still are as we ease our way to a new normal way of working, living and shopping . We are still advised of measures to protect ourselves and others with face coverings being mandatory while we travel and shop.  We all haven’t agreed with all the of the decisions that have been made and unfortunately job losses are inevitable as we go into the biggest recession the UK has ever had . However we have all shown compassion and empathy throughout this . We can rebuild our communities and our own lives showing the same understanding and shared values to keep our families and our communities safe ."

Dear SQA

 

Glasgow

 

3 August 2020

 

Dear Scottish Qualifications Authority,

 

My exam results arrive tomorrow.  

 

I was in 5^th year when the schools closed -  the year school always tells you is one of the most important of your academic life. It should have been the year I sat 4 Highers and a National 5, but in the end it was a year that turned out like no other for any of us. 

 

It feels like the year and my exams have been taken away from me.  I have been so stressed and worried.  And I haven’t heard from you in all this time.

 

When I get the text tomorrow morning I’ll probably feel like throwing the phone against the wall.  I’m not very optimistic.  I know I could have done so much better than my prelims if I’d had the chance to keep working.  

 

I’d had a bad year at school.  There were personal issues which made it very difficult and stressful, but I still had time to turn things round.  

 

Before lockdown when I was feeling optimistic and thinking about how the exams could go, I thought I might get C’s and maybe a B.  I thought I would have the chance to keep working through March, April and May. 

 

Last year I got mostly A’s for my National 5’s, and that was what I was thinking I would have the chance to do this year, to strive better in the exam itself.

 

 I think I’ll just be reading ‘FAIL’ when I open the text tomorrow though.  This has all been a bit of a nightmare and caused me so much worry.

 

I remember back in March the feeling of disbelief when my friends were telling me the schools were  shutting.  I had already been self isolating for a week as I had symptoms of the virus, and couldn’t believe I wouldn’t get back in again.  That week was horrible. I mean, now we’re all used to it, but that first week, it was dreadful.

 

Then I heard the exams were cancelled.  My first thoughts were ‘Yes!  No exams!’ – sheer elation.  But as I thought about it I was like – ‘Oh wait, last year I did better in my exams, but now this is it all over, I don’t have any extra time to study. There’s nothing I can do.’

 

My friends told me at first, and then there was an official statement, but I didn’t hear anything from you at the SQA directly to me or to young people in general.  No official acknowledgement of the impact that decision was going to have on my life.  

 

I think my mum got one text from the school, but that was it.  When I think about it now, that’s kind of messed up.  Such a huge decision taken about my life and I wasn’t consulted or told about it – just left to stress my head off.  Left with all that uncertainty on top of all the uncertainty I had about what was happening to the world in general.

 

Although I’m dreading what the text will say and what will be in the envelope – although I’m pretty sure I’ve failed, I actually have no idea.  I still don’t understand how the exams have been graded.  That’s something else you have failed to tell me or explain to me.

 

The school said something about prelims and predicted grades.  As I said, I had a really hard year and I failed hard on my prelims.  Maybe if the teacher likes you and thought you could have done better they might have boosted your predicted grade.  But I don’t know.  

 

And that’s the problem.  I don’t know.  Surely I should?  Surely you should have spoken directly to young people, explained to them how this was going to work?  Not leave us guessing, stressing and making it up.

 

I’m just glad I have the opportunity of another year at school if this has gone badly wrong.  I can hopefully sort it all out.  I’ve been offered a Foundation Apprenticeship in Childcare.  That means I’ll be in school 3 days, college 1 day, and on placement in a nursery 1 day – I’m really looking forward to that, I really enjoy working with children, I hope I can make a career out of it.  

 

I can’t imagine what it must be like for 6^th Years that needed specific grades.  If they’d had a bad start to the year like me and were hoping to be able to pull it all back for the exams.

 

My exam results arrive tomorrow.  It feels like one of the most essential years of my life has been cut off.  These last few months not knowing what was going on and hearing so little from the school and the SQA have been so stressful.  At times it has been overbearing.

 

 But I worked through it by saying, ‘whatever happens happens,  I’ll sort through it as it comes.’  That helped me let go, but before I developed that mindset, it was tough.    It affects your mental health, all that confusion, waiting and worrying.

 

My exam results arrive tomorrow.  I’ll finally get my communication from you.  

 

Jack