Hey, Dear Readers! Season’s Greetings! First off, I want to thank all those who have recently signed this petition. It means a lot! But to be honest, I am a little disappointed that signatures haven’t gone beyond 10k and into the stratosphere. No worries! I do believe that there is a reason for this… PERCEPTIONS THROUGH THE MEDIA Me? Thankfully, I do not have TV – I gave up my cable a long time ago, and I do not regret it! Not in the slightest! However, through Social Media, I have seen the cover of The Scum (Sun) toilet paper that features a single mother on Welfare Assistance: “Defiant dole mum, Claire Young, 29, has defended blowing £2,000 on Christmas gifts for her children...” this woman also features on other right-wing oriented so-called newspapers. More often than not, people make a judgment on the headline alone. As a result of this media manipulation, so many working people have the absolute wrong impression of people who happen to be dependent on Welfare Assistance. I do not call it “Benefits” as that word gives the wrong idea… The perception is that people are benefiting from free money! This is simply not true. Then there’s the other perception as to what kind of people who are receiving Welfare Assistance… In your mind, can you picture a typical person on Welfare Assistance? If so, what do they look like? Are they disheveled weed smokers? White? Black? Non-UK born citizens? Do they look lazy? Do you think they are content to live off Welfare Assistance for the rest of their lives??? With the media headlines, you can be forgiven to think that me, and others like me, who are receiving Welfare Assistance do not want to work and are doing everything in order to avoid getting a job. Look, it’s not that black and white… It’s no wonder that you may think that Welfare Assistance sanctions are in order! You might think that sanctions are meted out justly and therefore fairly. NO! This is not so… Sure, there are some instances of people receiving Universal Credit or Jobseekers Allowance who find it hard to adopt this 35 hour a week Work Activity regiment. Still, a sanction is not an incentive for finding work. Even if you might think that some people must have broken the rules and that they deserve to suffer as a consequence, a sanction or series of sanctions is definitely not the way to go about getting people back into work. There is a myriad of reasons why some people appear to be work shy… Some people may have undiagnosed conditions such as Asperger’s Syndrome, and if you know anything about it or someone with Asperger’s, you will appreciate that such individuals may not always fit into society so easily. We just can’t afford to be judgemental. UNJUST What you and many others may find hard to believe is that some of these so-called “work coaches” actually create false narratives in order to impose unjust sanctions upon the Jobcentre clientele. That’s exactly what happened to me! In a nutshell, my former “work coach” whom I’ve dubbed Tricky Vicky made a conscious decision to sabotage my self-employment opportunity with the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and subsequently prevented me from working on my online portfolio (post NEA), which was/is essential to me as a Graphics & Multimedia Designer, by altering my Universal Jobmatch records where I would input what I had done for Work Activity, e.g. sent off applications, updating the CV, covering letter composition, and, of course, my online portfolio! The Universal Jobmatch facility appears to be designed to give the petty jobsworth of a "work coach" any excuse to carry out a sanction. It is only because I instigated a tribunal is why I was able to see what Tricky Vicky had inputted into the Universal Credit computer system. Now, you would have thought that the “decision maker,” who had access to both Tricky Vicky’s (false) records as well as my own (Universal Jobmatch recordings), would have seen the inconsistencies and disallowed the two sanctions for November & December 2016. NO!!! I spent the most part of a year preparing my papers for the tribunal! Can you believe it??? I could have had my portfolio online is less time than it has taken to prepare for and sit through these otherwise unnecessary tribunals!!! Talk about a waste of time!!! I had two tribunals this year. I had a major trial in July and the other in November. In July I won the “decision” for the December 2016 sanction but not November... I don’t know why I didn’t win them both outright, I had to, therefore, challenge the “decision” as something definitely did not sit well. Come 16th November (2017), I won the sanction for the November 2016 sanction! Happy Sanction Anniversary! I state “won” but they are hollow victories – I will tell you why in a bit… When I took my seat in the tribunal courtroom for the second time, I knew that I had won it within a minute past the introductions. WHAT SANCTIONS DO TO PEOPLE Sanctions – especially when predicated on false narratives – defocusses on the objective to find employment. You start to fret about the bills – if you are in charge of running a household! I would imagine that it is not too bad if you live with your parents. But as an adult running a household, I had lost the ability to pay the bills, buy food, etc. Alarmingly, I have gotten into debt… I have had bailiffs banging down the door, debt collectors letters pour through the letterbox, and so on… My credit rating has taken a dive, so if I wanted to make a purchase for my self-employment or job on credit, it would be denied. I do not see what my former “work coach” was trying to do by creating these false narratives other than to impose sanctions. The fallout from the sanctions - the undue, unjust illegal sanctions have caused me – as well as my family and friends – a lot of unnecessary stress. This former “work coach” made a great effort to destroy my life instead of helping me find employment. For sure, my career as a Graphics & Multimedia Designer was ruined by this woman. That last one sounds dramatic, eh??? I tell you right now: When you become unemployed in a specialist profession, you have a certain window of time to get back in. I have lost that window of time. Now there is a massive hole in my CV that I have to fill. This is why I decided to opt for self-employment. RECENTLY Yes, I lost my rag and sent out an angry email that contained some profanity... Actually, come to think of it, my email contained quite a bit of profanity and some very angry abusive terminologies to boot. I know… I know… I shouldn’t have stooped so low. I was actually in the middle of writing a very pleasant email to the same “work coach” that made me livid… But I received the "work coach's" email before I could finish my very positive email. This made me alter what I was about to send considerably. Most, unfortunately, the way the DWP/Jobcentre Plus (former) have reacted to my furious email, you would have thought that I am a habitual hothead that is a physical threat to my former Jobcentre staff members. However, the one good thing that came from my angry profanity-laden email is that I am going be transferred to what I hope will be a better Jobcentre Plus establishment. I am not expecting too much from being relocated to another Jobcentre Plus, but I am very happy to not see these dodgy people anymore (at my former Jobcentre Plus)! There is a possibility, however remote, that I can get the precise help that I need. By going self-employed, I will address the issues such as this chasm in my CV and the online portfolio. I hope to be taking on some design work next year, this should help provide material for my online portfolio. In addition, I will get my Vegan Protein Bars and other products into the various retail outlets. Here’s my Go Fund Me: www.gofundme.com/Veganergize If you could help, that would be great! ACHIEVEMENT It has come to my attention that some people do not understand the nature of my petition. Why??? I just can’t say for sure other than to suspect that this misunderstanding comes from media induced perceptions of people who are on some sort of Welfare Assistance. Of course, I have turned the update aspect of my petition into a blog of sorts. I think it is important for people to learn from my experiences. Am I whining??? Well, duh??? A petition is a form of “whining” - if you want to be disparaging. However, I can tell you that I am not the only person who has been unjustly and illegally sanctioned. My fight is not a “vendetta” against the individuals who have tried to wreck my life beyond how I knew it to be and how it should be. NO! This is about getting justice! This petition should encourage people who have been unjustly sanctioned to take affirmative action. How many times have you heard of people dying as a result of being sanctioned??? Me??? One too many! This is Britain not some third world island with a tinpot dictator running it. Oh, I think I have just described May and what the UK has become! I want you to understand that people have died and will continue to die if sanctioning does not stop. I think "work coaches" who have been found to have imposed unlawful sanctions should be sacked! I have every right to state that my former “work coach” made an attempt to kill me through a total of 41 days in sanctions! This is not a lie! It’s not like I do not have any sympathy for these “work coaches” who are under an immense pressure to get the clientele off the books - so to speak - as quickly as possible. I get it... These “work coaches” are human after all. That said, if I were in their shoes, I couldn’t knowingly create false narratives to impose sanctions that could not only destroy the standing of an individual but could kill that individual outright! Me? I am very fortunate to have family and friends that have bailed me out somewhat. Other people have not fared so well. It makes me very sad and angry to think that a young man or woman can be demoralized by a so-called “work coach” to the point whereby he/she feels that suicide is the answer. It is crazy that people have died of starvation through having been sanctioned… I have heard of an individual dying from having his electricity cut off because he was unable to refrigerate his insulin. That is just mad! People who have it mind that sanctions are deserved need to have a rethink. This sham of a government needs to understand that sanctions do not work and that they have killed and will continue to kill vulnerable people. I can only hope that my experiences can help those who believe that there is nothing they can do. If this happens to you, do not give up! Do not give in! If you happen to be fortunate to be employed, do not think for one second that this can’t happen to you! These days, jobs are under constant threat as I’ve seen many shops close locally. And some people who are working are saying that their jobs do not pay. The byline for Universal Credit is “making work pay” Or some crap like that. It is apparent that the government does not have a clue, moreover, they do not care. This is not right! Well, thank you for reading and for your support! If you know of anyone who has been sanctioned, please direct them to this petition and my updates! All the best, Blue