Public Housing

2.30am

There’s a really shitty thing about having a disability, there’s not lots of ‘good things that happen in your life. It’s just more shit things in varying degrees of more shit.

It’s not that I’m always being negative, it’s just really hard to put a positive spin on ‘shit!’

Example; A few weeks ago I had a review for my application for Public Housing. And it seemed that all of a sudden I might not even be eligible because I earn too much! WHAT THE FUDGE???

It seems I earn $12.30 too much per week. I’m not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. I pay my rent, I pay my bills and I get no funding. I go shopping and while I’m not extravagant I’ve started to do what I call the ‘Povo-shop’ which is to only buy the things on the shopping list and to watch the total at the register with my heart in my throat.

So you can see it’s hard to sugar coat it! It’s hard to put a positive spin on living day to day this way.

And then often friends don’t know how to respond. Trust me, I know it’s horrible, which is why I mostly don’t say anything, but if I say something, I’m not telling you so will offer to fix my problems. I don’t know what would fix my problems.

Please just have some empathy.

It looks like this; don’t say nothing, say something. It might be something really simple like this:

“I’m really sorry, it sucks! I didn’t know it was that bad, let me know if I can do anything…..”

Just so you know, I rarely ask for help, so don’t be afraid I’ll call on you for anything but a chat…

Assistance please

Some people have really got no idea how the system I live in works and these are people that work in this system and generally (?) want to be helpful. But anyway;-

Example 1

I live in private rental, so when trying to negotiate extra assistance in other areas. I will mention, I live in private rental, to make the point that I’m already doing it tough, paying horrendous rental on a disability pension.

Instead of helping me in the area that I’ve called them for (maybe a donated computer or whatever) they suggest – have I considered applying for Public Housing?

Are all the people they deal with idiots? Applying for Public Housing was on my Top 5 list about 7 years ago and to make it clear NOT BECAUSE I WANT TO!

So, for those who don’t know, you apply for Public Housing and it’s a wait list longer than life itself. Then you get forms your doctor (generally GP) to fill in and that qualifies you for early housing because in my case I have a disability.

That is still 5 years away!

And this is still for Housing that will be smaller than what I want or need, in an area I should be paid to live in. Just so I can pay a fraction of the rent I now pay, so I will have more money to spend not to be home!

I’m a home body, so it seems to defeat the purpose agreed?

I don’t think I’m the type of person who would do well for very long in Public Housing. What remains of my Good Mental Health, would not last long around people who have bigger mental health issues than mine and I really don’t want to live in high density living with people of a drug element, when I’ve managed to not resort to drugs to fix my problems…