I've just got back from seeing a screening of I, Daniel Blake and to be honest it wrecked me. You see as a debt caseworker, I speak to far too many people who are at their wits end, having been ground down by the 'system'.
If someone is too ill to work they are supposed to be helped by claiming Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) but if they are of working age and fit to work then they are supposed to receive help by claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) until they are able to find a job.
However, there is a shocking number of people that I speak to who fall in between and are considered by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to be fit for work, so are turned down for ESA but they are not fit enough to work so aren't able to claim JSA.
In the film, Daniel Blake is one of these people. He's suffered a major heart attack prior to the opening of the film and his doctors and consultants have advised him not to work until he has recovered. He is turned down for ESA because a decision maker has decided that he's not ill enough based on a certain set of questions and not on his actual circumstances or health reports from his doctor.
Daniel is a highly skilled carpenter but not computer literate so struggles to navigate the whole benefits system from start to finish as all applications have to be done online. Apparently the DWP is digital by default which means if you are not computer literate or don't have access to a computer you will fall foul of the 'system'.
Daniel meets a young single mother trying to get by but as she's from London and has been moved to the North East for housing, she doesn't know her way around and is a few minutes late for her signing on appointment. The benefits adviser is completely intransigent and appears to just follow rules and regulations rather than have an ounce of compassion or understanding in order to be able to exercise any discretion .
Sadly, none of what is described in the film is a surprise and therein lies my problem with it. The film is superb and I'm so glad that Ken Loach and his team have shone a light onto what is a reality for the films characters but sadly it's an all too common situation for many people across our country. Most films can be easily dismissed as just works of fiction but this is just too close to reality but of course that's something that marks out a Ken Loach film.
It utterly disgusts me that our country appears to have no sense of humanity, that there are people being ground down and utterly demoralised by the system, the lack of decent, affordable housing, the dismantling of communities and the lack of good, well paying jobs. It disgusts me that there are people unable to afford to feed themselves or pay for basic necessities.
It reminded me so much of my childhood being brought up by a single parent mother who struggled desperately to keep a roof over our heads and to feed and clothe us. She was lucky enough to be able to get a job and she worked full time for most of my childhood. The gaps in between work were relatively few and far between but it also meant that I had to look after myself for much of the time with a key on a string around my neck when I was very young and also a house where we had no floor coverings at all, just a concrete floor and only a square of blanket to sit on. Eventually, my mother was able to furnish that flat but it was tough at the beginning.
Thankfully, our lives are far better now and I was able to leave the cinema after watching I, Daniel Blake, and get into my car and drive home to my family for lunch. We have food in our cupboards and don't have to worry about paying our mortgage and electricity etc but it could so easily be very different. I almost felt guilty about having enough, when so many people have so little. If anything I am more determined than ever to make a difference and do all that I can in whichever sphere I can to help others and to show some human compassion to everyone I speak to.
In fact, between Oct 3 - 23rd many of my colleagues and Christians Against Poverty (CAP) supporters will be doing #20for20 which is 20 days of highlighting the work of CAP and to raise funds for CAP which this year has been going for 20 years. Sadly, our work is still more desperately needed than ever. If you want to help in any way with any kind of financial gift no matter how small then please visit https://www.capuk.org/get-involved/donate?source=michelleswallow
(During the next 20 days I will be giving up watching TV or catch up as many of our clients can't afford electricity or TV licences and I will be donating the equivalent of the daily TV licence fee to CAP. As I didn't think this was enough I will also give up using my car for 20 days and try to walk everywhere if possible and donate the equivalent amount of money that I would have spent on fuel to CAP. Some of my colleagues will be living on only £1 per day.)
Finally, please go and see the film I, Daniel Blake and let it move you to action of some kind to make a difference for our fellow human beings.
