My Label And Me: I Am Not A ‘Scrounger’ Because I Claim Benefits

By Nina Grant in The Metro.

At 18, after six months in a psychiatric unit, I first claimed disability benefits. A social worker helped me apply for supported housing, as well as for the benefits needed to cover my rent and cost of living. Because I was so young, I didn’t know much about the stigma that claimants faced. I knew about ‘the dole’ and state pensions, but the vitriol I faced about claiming disability benefit was shocking. Someone even reported me to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for ‘benefit fraud’, enraged that I didn’t have to work.

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Link to Disability Benefits story