#Benefit #sanctions drive families to #payday #lenders - 206% increase in those seeking help from @CitizensAdvice. Shona Alexander, chief executive of Newcastle Citizens Advice, said that the longer minimum #sanction period – when people are left without the financial support of their benefit – is having a counter-productive effect. Claimants are distracted from job hunting as they focus on putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their head. She added: “We see people here every day who have had their benefits #sanctioned and who are desperate for money. “They are often forced into the hands of payday lenders, which only make things worse. “Sanctions often have a negative effect on our clients’ mental health. Being sanctioned can actually put someone further away from the workplace. “They’re so busy trying to put food on the table and worrying about debts that they can’t look for a job. “Some people don’t even know when they’ve been sanctioned, so by the time the money stops there’s no time for emergency budgeting, challenging the sanction or applying for #hardship payments. “For the first week they’ll struggle to get by, scraping up every penny. “The second week they might borrow from family or friends, but by the third week they are desperate, and that’s when they come to us.”
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 14:38:53 +0000
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