Question about being on Disability living allowance and?

Hi! I totally understand where your coming from as my partner has mental health problems and I had to leave my job in order to become a carer. You CAN get DLA for mental health problems BUT you may only get a low rate unless you can prove it affects things like mobility.

They ask for things that you can do now, rather than what you can't. You will need plenty of back up and proof from your psychiatrists and GP's, and make sure you get help filling in the forms. A lot of people do not really realise the true extent of how their condition affects their daily life and often (especially being British!) are reserved to themselves and others about how they really *manage* At the time my partner couldn't wash, cook, take meds, do anything for themselves, and the result was huge increase in weight and eventually a DTV and blood clot in the lung which made everything worse!

Many people do not understand mental health and do not even consider the disability aspects of it (put the word *mental* into the sentence and everyone closes down their acceptance of the word *disabled*) The word *disabled* no longer means someone in a wheelchair, or someone who is blind, deaf, no arms or legs. The word *disabled* encompasses many different conditions! Mental health brings it's own disabilities and can either make original physical problems worse or bring them on.

People with mental health problems are twice as likely to be overweight, have underlying health conditions and have poor access to psychical health services as well. Sometimes it;s also easier for someone in a wheelchair to gain employment, than someone with a mental health conditions because it varies and they are seen as unreliable. Believe me, I have seen my partner go from a strong person who took me through hard times, a good job and social life, to becoming a curled up foetus who no longer cared about themselves.

Apart from DLA, your benefits will not just stop because your partner moves in, but it IS looked at jointly because of joint household income, SO, you may still get income related benefits depending on how much your partner's income is. You can call your local council and ask them to check how much HB and council tax benefit you would get based on your partner's earnings (which is what I did for me) My partner is on DLA, Incap, Income Support (Joint couple claim for that) and we both get HB. Now, I looked into returning to work when my partner is well enough and I called the council to see what would happen to our HB.

My partner would still get HB and £5 a week council tax, My partner would still get DLA and Incap (can't remember is partner would get some Income support) My carers allowance and Income support would stop BUT I would be entitled to working tax credits. So, Yes the DLA would help, for your situation, but it may not be as bad you think if you were to move in with your partner. Also, they have changed the rules slightly on doing volunteer work and short/part time work placements for those on benefits and particularly those on sick benefits etc. My partner was asked to attend a work focussed d interview at the job centre but basically all it was, was an officer offering support to my partner IF my partner wished or was well enough, to start some training, volunteer work or 1 day a week working without loosing any money.

This way, your able to start getting back into some work, but are also supported financially. If you go through the job centre and support workers, they can find placements that will support you. Don't look outside because as you have found, someone with your problems can not easily find work, which is also reasonable if you think about it, as an employer wants someone reliable, as as I said, many employers are now open eyed to someone with a a wheelchair as *able* but totally closed to a *mental* problem!

I think the first place to start is to get the forms for DLA, then contact all your psychiatrists, Doctors, and GP's and tell them what you want to do and will they support you in doing so? They can then write up letters for you. While you get that going, contact your local council and find out how much HB and council tax benefit you would still get IF your partner moves in with you.

See what the outcome is for both the DLA and HB and then go from there. Don't forget you CAN also work while getting DLA (your rate will go down but you will still get DLA) So after doing all the above, IF you can manage, contact the job centre and see what they can do in regards to say offering a ONE day of volunteering. Volunteering is a great way to go because you never know who will take you on, or who might meet that may offer you a job.

Also great to have on your CV because it shows potential employers that you CAN hold down a position albeit limited to say part time.

Since you didn't disclose many details about your mental health issues, I can only go by what you have written here. You are very articulate, evidently can use a computer so there is no reason from I can tell that you could not find employment working from home. There is more and more of it all the time -much of it designed specifically for people with disabilities.

There is some unskilled, but other skilled - like medical transcription, accounting, billing, etc. As for DLA I haven't lived in England for about a dozen years, so I am not sure. But I think you should not eliminate the possibility of working when you seem so competent in other areas. Check out Access to Work: http://www.dialuk.info/info_service/Info... They may know of work at home schemes or they perhaps you should think about self-employment?

If I were you I would look for jobs in writing, editing, etc.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.