Why cruel cuts prompted single mum to march at the bLondon/b demo b.../b
Amanda Copeland was facing life in a homeless shelter with her three children when her support was slashed last October and she couldn’t meet the mortgage payments
Last Saturday my children (aged three, six and eight) and I travelled to London to attend the anti-cuts demo. This was an important event for us, as it was an opportunity to take part in a protest against the brutal cuts that had already had such a huge impact on our lives since they were rushed through last October.
In June 2010, I made the difficult decision to give up work. Having separated from my children’s father, who was not able to contribute financially, I tried working, first full-time and then part-time (I am a qualified and experienced nurse), but could not earn enough to cover the costs of childcare or our interest-only mortgage. It was a desperate time. I was working long hours, but still not managing financially. The kids were unhappy about my separation from their father and having to spend most of their time in nursery and after-school clubs.
As someone who has always been hard-working, resourceful and self-reliant, I found it very hard to accept that I couldn’t combine the long hours with the responsibility of being a single parent. I lost a lot of weight, became physically and mentally exhausted and finally had to face the fact that I couldn’t provide financially for my family and care for them or myself adequately. At this point, I handed in my notice at work.
From June to October I settled into being a full-time mother. I managed better financially on subsistence benefits than I had done for months on a nurse’s wage with huge childcare bills and monthly outgoings. The children began to thrive again, and, surrounded by the love and support of family and friends, I began to breathe a sigh of relief. We were going to be OK: in my hour of need the support was there, and I didn’t feel ashamed to accept it.
...