Jan/Feb 2024

50
South Woodford Village Gazette
ABANDONED
South Woodford resident Simone Roach explains her frustration and
desperation following the rejection of her disability benefit application,
which has left her feeling abandoned
My name is Simone Roach. I’m 21
years old and was born with a
disability called severe progressive
axonal polyneuropathy. My condition
caused me to lose the ability to walk, so
I’m now a permanent wheelchair user. It
also removed all of the movement from
my fingers and wrists, so I can’t grab or
hold objects with my hands either (I’m
typing this article with a pen in my mouth).
Despite all this, my claim to receive PIP, a
disability benefit, was dismissed.
This has put me in an impossible situation. I
currently have no funds despite having bills to
pay. I have nothing I can use to pay the extra
costs my disability causes me, and I don’t have
a wheelchair taxi card (because I can’t claim
PIP), so I’m stuck indoors. I’ve been applying to
jobs nonstop and going through countless job
interviews only to be rejected time and time
again. There aren’t that many jobs I can apply
for based on my skills and qualifications. I can’t
just do a standard cleaning, waitressing or
retail job because of my disability.
I tried going to Citizens Advice Redbridge
because things are getting quite desperate,
but they don’t do in-person appointments. I
phoned them but was on hold for over two
hours. I emailed them, but they said they’re
so busy working on cases that they might not
be able to help anyone new at the moment. I
desperately need help and I don’t know where
else to turn.
My PIP claim is supposedly being dismissed
because I recently lived in the Netherlands.
I was born in London and I used to live here
when I was younger (my parents and sisters
are British citizens too). However, when I was
a child, my family moved to the Netherlands.
I moved back to the UK in April 2023.
I contacted both Citizens Advice and a PIP
adviser and they both assured me that if I
moved here, I’d be able to claim PIP. I knew I
wouldn’t be able to move to London without
that extra financial support.
Upon my return, I filled out the PIP application
form. To my surprise, after months of waiting,
my PIP claim was dismissed. Apparently,
because I haven’t lived in England for two
of the last three years, I can’t claim PIP, even
though on PIP’s official website it says: “If
you’ve recently returned from living in the EU,
Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein,
you might be able to get PIP sooner.” In fact, it
says that you are even able to claim PIP while
living abroad if you’re a British citizen. I tried
to appeal the decision but the answer was
the same – I have to wait two years before I
can claim.
This is deeply disturbing to me. It means if you
have a disability and you leave the UK for two
years, you can never return because how is
one supposed to function here for two years
until eligible to claim benefits again? I feel as if
I’m being abandoned by the government.
For more information and to contact
Simone, visit thewheelchairteen.com
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