A Rant in Support of People with Serious MH Issues

I am unfamiliar with Benefits and I am currently helping two family relatives with serious MH issues claim the benefits in which they are entitled to and desperately need.

Myself, I have paid my taxes - huge sums of money over the past 35 years and never had the need to claim any benefits for myself. Now I am in the position of trying to help my young relatives who had a terrible upbringing (which added to their MH issues).

I find it incredibly disgraceful at how hard it is for them to obtain what they are entitled to. In reality, how are these vulnerable people supposed to understand these minefield of forms? My opinion is they are designed to set the applicant up for failure at the very start. Many people with MH issues just don't have the insight to understand exactly what they need to do to make their claims successful. E.g. to provide evidence. To contact bodies to get supporting evidence etc.

I recently attended an ESA Assessment, one of the questions put to my relative was 'did he find it difficult to complete the ESA50 form'. My relative answered 'no he didn't find it difficult'. To him he didn't find it difficult but he just filled it out as he though fit but not realising the depth of the questions and the detail that is needed for a claim to be successful. In short his form lacked a lot of evidence and the form needed to be filled out in greater detail.

The other thing I have experienced/witnessed with my relatives is the amount of times their benefits have been stopped (the amount of stress and anxiety this causes!) and we spend ages trying to get to the bottom of why. It often boils down to government depts, not speaking to each other or the applicant not being advised of certain changes, or perhaps the claimant didn't tick a box. Both of my relatives do receive letters, they don't understand them and do nothing until it is too late. They really don't have anyone to support them and at times, the support that I give them leaves me feeling so drained that it affects my own health.

In my eyes, it is extremely cruel the way in which our Government treat our vulnerable people. The amount of anxiety and stress that adds to an already difficult life is totally disgraceful. We really need more people or Government bodies who can stand up for vulnerable people. It absolutely guts me to see the way the Government, so unfairly put so much pressure on these unfortunate people.

I suppose this is about all I can say without allowing my blood to reach boiling point

Thanks for reading, and for any of you that aren't familiar with Mental Health issues, thank you for giving a moment of thought to the people in our vulnerable society.
I'd just like to say a very big thank you to everyone who is involved in the Benefits and Work Website. You are all doing a great and very worthy job and I am of the opinion that you are providing fantastic support to whoever accesses the site. Thanks again.