Feeling stuck

lonergirlx3

I am 25 years old diagnosed autistic and suffer severe anxiety and some depression. I have never worked. I tried working a night shift in a warehouse a few years ago but only lasted four shifts. I also tried college but couldn’t cope with the classroom environment and all the people. I still feel like if I tried to go back to college I’d have a panic attack. 

I don’t really know what id enjoy doing if I did work as I have no hobbies and interests. 

Consequently my CV is basically bare. 

Another issue is that I’m in temporary housing as I’m homeless and waiting to be housed by the council. My rent is covered by housing benefit and I get PIP and LCWRA payment. This keeps me afloat. 

If I were to start part time or full time work, I’d end up losing these benefits (except PIP) and then I’d have to contribute to my rent which wouldn’t be cheap. I’d basically be left with a quarter of what I currently get in benefits to live off. So it doesn’t seem to financially benefit me to be employed. Isn’t that mad?

I mean correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t know many people who are able to afford to rent a flat to themselves as a 25 year old unless you have very good earnings. I wouldn’t be able to survive and pay my rent on my own if I lost my benefits. 

I don’t know what to do because I feel very depressed not doing something productive with myself, I also feel great shame for not working. At the same time I don’t think I could cope going into full time work as I haven’t done anything for many years and I’m worried similarly to when I tried doing the warehouse job I’d end up quitting after a week. 

If I could do a remote job from home that would eliminate me having to worry about leaving the house and going somewhere, but I don’t have the qualifications for that. I left school with one GCSE. 

I’ve tried looking for volunteering opportunities but I’m finding it a struggle. A lot of them are not nearby and I am not able to get on public transport on my own (I haven’t done for many years). 

I feel like I might end up living my life on benefits which I don’t have a big issue with but I feel very ashamed by it and judged for it. I don’t have friends and have never had any romantic relationships, I’m lonely and feel like I’m stopping myself from meeting people because I feel shame about myself and my life. I don’t think I have anything to offer. 

Albus_Scope

Heya @lonergirlx3 I'm sorry to hear things are so stressful for you currently.  Have you thought about contacting Scopes employment services?  They are there to help disabled people with their employment struggles and could be of use. There's a lot more remote jobs out there these days luckily, I'm fully remove myself and it's been a godsend.

   You can still claim other benefits whilst working, even UC, though there's limits on how much you can earn before your UC starts reducing, but that can often be a good buffer for you.

poppy123456

Working doesn’t automatically mean that your UC would stop. It will depend on your earnings. 

As you have LCWRA then you will be entitled to the work allowance. This means that you can receive £379/month of earnings before the 55% deductions apply. 

You would need to make sure you report changes and tell UC that you are working, if you so start. Do be aware though that if the work you do contradicts the reasons why you were found to have LCWRA then it could go against you at your next assessment.

You can use a benefits calculator to check entitlement.