As the cost of living crisis continues to cripple many families, an Edinburgh mum has spoken of her life living on the breadline.
Susan, an outreach worker for Low Income Families Together, in North Edinburgh, is mum to three boys, 21, 16 and 15.
She had her eldest boy when she was just 16-years-old herself and as a family they have faced many hurdles.
Susan and her boys have been homeless in the past, as well as finding themselves in precarious positions.
Her lived experience is what makes her the super hero outreach worker that her community relies upon to help them navigate the difficulties that exist in modern society, reports Edinburgh Live.
Susan has spoke openly about difficulties facing families - including her own - in areas such as Granton, Wardieburn, Pilton and Muirhouse amongst many others.
She says that she worries about having to tell her two youngest kids that she may not be able to afford for them to go to university or college - an outrageous scenario for 2022.
Susan says that not only are families struggling when they start out with childcare and employment issues but that they are also facing a great deal of hardship when their teenage children are looking to leave school.
She said: “I’ve had it at both sides of the scale. With worrying about how to make ends as we start out life as a family, to wondering what to do with my kids approaching the school leaving age.
“I’m about to lose all of my benefits with my two youngest still living at home.
“My son who is 16 has been getting little to no support from the school due to Covid and when he went for his national qualifications he did not get what he needed due to the issues with the pandemic.
“This means he may not be able to get on the college course that he wanted.
“So now I have to say to a 16-year-old that when he gets his first job, he will have to pay me £200 a fortnight in order to help me meet my rent, as when he leaves I will lose all my benefits.
“There is just not enough support for families like us.
“He cannot be excited about earning his first wage if he is having to think about paying his mum's rent. It is not right for teenagers that are so young.
“I’m trying to drum into them what the reality is. I’m one of these parents that cannot afford for my kids to go to university. I cannot afford it. They have to get a job due to the current situation.
“How am I to tell my son he has to pay £400 a month to live here? They are not ready to work at 16 as is.
“There has to be continued support for families until the children are old enough to look after themselves.
“Private lets have been an issue for years so how are they even meant to afford to move out?
“How can we encourage them to go to university or college?
“My eldest has flown the nest but it was not easy for him either.
“He got a job after being at college for a year as he couldn't afford it as he could only work a couple nights.
“It is either full time education and then I need help from elsewhere or they get a job and I can't help them anymore and they need to help me.
“At 16 our kids are not ready to go to work and if they want to leave school at 16 then mum gets all her money ripped from her. There is too much pressure on them.
“We want our kids to go to college and uni but we need support.
“I hope that my kids experiencing what we have had to live through will teach them what is required to escape hardship and that they will understand what the difficulties are that they will face.”
Susan adds that through her work she notices families that are struggling to get funding for childcare because they work a few hours over the 16-hour threshold set out by authorities.
She said: “The way the benefits system works is horrendous. There have been many times where I have thought that I would personally be better off not working so that I could receive an extra £190 to help me support my kids during holidays or with school meals.
“I work 20 hours a week so I’m four hours over their remit. We need to ensure that childcare support is accessible to absolutely everyone across the ages.
“As a child I could not afford to go to the Easter Camps during the holidays and the same is true for so many families today.
“At the moment it does not pay to work. There are people who are sitting in their homes receiving benefits that are better off than those working.”
She reiterated that this was in no way an attack on people on benefits as she states that “majority of those that use our services are in work” but that in work poverty is a real issue that needs to be addressed.
She added: “The difference for me working those extra four hours is £40. That is how much better off I am than if I were working 16-hours or less. But then the benefit available is £190? So why am I better off working? How does that work?
“Sometimes I think I’d be better off telling my sons to go on the dole and pretend they are looking for work. As all of our mental health would be better.
“The DWP system does not work the way they say it does. It does not encourage people to work. You are penalised if you are in employment and just miss the threshold.
“The UK government has us over a barrel.”
Susan’s powerful community activism involves her working with families that need a myriad of needs met.
From fathers struggling with mental health, to mothers escaping domestic abuse and trying to make ends meet.
She calls on both the government and the local authority, Edinburgh City Council, to do more to support families like her own.
She ends by saying that: “The benefit system is not fit for purpose and things are only going to get worse with the cost of living crisis as families cannot afford to put food in the fridge or top up their electricity and gas.
“We need to get rid of the thresholds and ensure that all parents are supported to look after their kids and to be able to have a warm roof over their heads with food to eat.”
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