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Recent graduate with financial problems

I really don't want to do this but I'm at the stage where there aren't many options left to explore. I have made this thread on the reddit donators page earlier today and now am posting it here. I would appreciate it if you could take the time to read it through completely and then if you guys have any questions fire away and I'll respond to it ALL.

Hi guys thanks for taking the time to read this post.


I suppose I'll start with a background of myself and explain my current situation and why I am here in the first place.


My name is Andy Clarke I have recently graduated (September 2014) from Manchester metropolitan university in BA Business management with a 2:1.
My plan once graduating was to find employment in the finance industry as a trainee accountant or a finance-based role as this is where I think I could thrive. Ideally I was looking for a company to pay for my accountancy qualification and was looking at CIMA's and ACCA's where I learn and work at the same time.
When I was graduating I was expecting to move back in with my parents until I found a job and could afford a place of my own. This did not happen.


Instead, I discovered my parents had applied for green cards to live in America and once successful brought a property without ever letting me know of the circumstance. As graduation rolled nearer, they informed me I would not be able to live with them and to start looking for a property as they would be unable to help. My parents sold the house and then moved to America with my little sister (Emily who is 7 in February). I have not seen my sister since the second year of university. This naturally put me in a bit of a predicament as the student loan was not quite enough to live on and put money down for a roomshare once I had graduated as I received my last payment in April and did not find out about any of this until I attempted to move back in August. This is where the fun starts.


So after moving back to my hometown (Watford, UK) i immediately set out to find work while sofa surfing at friends houses. I managed to find temporary work here and there for minimum wage however at the time I was not complaining as I looked to be resolving the issue. However with temporary work being sporadic and being unable to stay at any place for too long I eventually ended up homeless. I originally did not tell any of my friends as it was simply too humiliating to be abandoned by my parents and be homeless. Emotionally it has really made me re-evaluate a lot of things in my life. So I slept rough on benches and out on the streets and I knew with Winter coming up it would really become an issue as I had no money for warmer clothes and would be battling the elements. With a bit of research I discovered a charity called "New Hope" which has a few options for homeless people. With food already being an issue (I had to sometimes go to shops, pick up food then go to a canteen area as If I had bought it to keep me going. This obviously couldn't last as I knew eventually I will get caught and get a criminal record to top it all off. Once discovering the charity I got in touch with them and explained the situation.


They have whats called a "transition" service which allows you to stay for 21 days once a spot becomes available. So I kept going to the daycentre which provides you with breakfast and lunch to see if a spot was available and eventually got one. Some of the conditions of living there are you have to be out by 9am every morning and back at the very latest by 10pm - If you are late you have to stay on the street for the whole night and you are allowed at max 1 night out a week. You are breathalysed daily and drug tested weekly. You can come back at the earliest 3:30 everyday so between 9-3:30 you have to find something to occupy your time. From seeing some homeless people live firsthand now I can safely say some of the assumptions people have about it are simply wrong. You can challenge me on that.


Upon moving into the transition service I was further questioned as to my situation and explained I was looking for work but needed housing so I could be employed to save up money to improve my circumstances.


They had an extension to the transition which is called the "night shelter" which if you pay Β£40.40 every two weeks they would house you after you transition period ended with a rolling monthly agreement essentially where you were only guaranteed a place for 28 days however depending on circumstances that could be increased. Luckily for me since October this is where I have been residing. This is now in danger however there are still a few things to mention. Firstly one of the conditions of staying at the nightshelter is that you CANNOT be in employment for more than 16 hours a week. Knowing 16 hours work a week would not allow me to save enough money to rent a place I knew I had to find housing where I could be employed.


First off being homeless and having no money I needed to actually obtain the money to pay the deposit for the room. I started to apply for Jobseekers allowance (JSA) which proved to be problematic as I had no fixed abode and thus receiving letters and correspondence was an issue. The charity allowed for mail to be sent to them and eventually I was signed up to JSA. The conditions of JSA are pretty obvious but the main key bits of information are:


- You have to be actively seeking work
- You have meeting every two weeks which then become weekly after around two months where they discuss your progress and how you are looking to get into employment.


So I filled out the job-universmal match that you need to do daily where they can check your progress looking for work and discussing the steps you are taking.


I explained to the jobcentre that while staying at the charity I could not actually be in employment for over 16 hours a week. They then sent me on a course (Lvl 1 entry to work) and also a job interview.
With this being an issue I started looking for places where I could be housed and be employed simultaneously. I was referred to the YMCA and spoke to them. (If you ever have to deal with the housing people, I wish you luck) They were really not interested in helping me but stated that if I could get two references they could put me on the waiting list. With my situation being what it is I knew I would have to take it all into my own hands if I wanted to be housed there. So I managed to get two references and have had them sent over to the YMCA. I am now on the waiting list but as you can imagine it is pretty busy and a lengthy list at this time of the year.


I attended the course and spoke to the tutor and they informed me If i had graduated university there were no skills that would be relevant to me and that they would vouch I did not need to attend the course for the full duration. I went to the job interview and the company opens in January and they told me if I was successful I would here from them after the New year (remember I'm not actually allowed this job as the moment I get it they cut off my JSA and the money the charity received from the council for housing me will cease and I will then become homeless again).


Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.


So my priority was to move to the YMCA. After going backwards and forwards with them about the references (How difficult can it be to look into an inbox and find the relevant info?! Very is the answer.)


So today at the jobcentre (18/12/14) I had a meeting and they have decided due to not sufficiently being available for work they have cut off my JSA just in time for Christmas (I was due to receive payment on the 23/12/14) due to the fact that I am "not available for work" although they are fully aware of my circumstance. I spoke to the charity immediately afterwards and they will be getting in touch with the council as I am expecting to receive my decision on the 23/12/14.
However because I am now on the waiting list for the YMCA they cannot house me as my benefits have been cut off and the charity are only going to house me until I can move to the YMCA. Catch-22. If I don't pay my rent at the Night shelter (Which I will be unable to do) they obviously cannot house me when there is a big cue looking for the rooms and would have to let me leave to accommodate somebody else. Understandable but frustrating.


It looks like im going to be spending Christmas in a little box room with no money and nobody to spend it with. I haven't felt this down since finding out my parents and right now I really don't know what I'm going to do because even if my JSA gets sorted i know must likely wont receive any money until around the 10th January 2015. Thats best case scenario. If they believe I have not sufficiently done enough I will completely lose my JSA and housing and be in the same position as if discovering the news for the first time in August. My parents have no helped me one bit since moving to America and haven't even got into touch. All they did was send me a happy birthday email.


The reason I am here is I am simply trying to find a way of raising around Β£1000-Β£1500 as 4 weeks rent upfront + deposit to give me the opportunity to find employment. (This I believe will be the easy part as I have had two or 3 roles offered since September but have had to decline. I have a vast array of work experience since 16 and could find a "stop-gap" job until I can start developing my career.


One of the issues with the YMCA is the extreme costs. If I were employed on an average salary in the UK (Β£1000 per month) They take roughly Β£775 per month and I would have Β£225 per month from full-time employment. If I saved all of it to the point where I wasn't even buying lunch for work it would take me roughly 5 months to save enough for my own room. as prices are around Β£100 per week and about a Β£200 deposit. So Β£600 at the very minimum is what is needed. The reason I am looking for around Β£1000-1500 is so I have a sufficient time to find a job role (I am signed up to every job agency on the high street). Also a laptop as I am currently sitting in the library and only get 1 hour free a day to help me in this situation. I had to sell nearly everything I had. All I have right now are toiletries and a handful of clothes that werent ruined when sleeping on the streets. Everything would fit into a rucksack.


Ideally if anyone has any ideas or thoughts as to how I can improve my situation I would really like you to comment on this as I cannot imagine being homeless for the rest of my life after graduating university. It makes me sick to my stomach to be in this situation.




If you guys want any sort of evidence or any information feel free to ask me and I will post it/upload documents.


I heard about this place because there was a girl on my Facebook who's brother has an extreme medical condition and the family became strapped for cash paying for the medical costs and thus she almost had to drop out of "college" in America for her final semester as her family couldn't afford it and the people on this website came to her rescue.


If you believe helping me is a sufficient cause I will be eternally grateful.




I look forward to hearing from you guys!
Reply 1
Original post by AndyClarke91
x


Good morning Andy,

A difficult read and it sounds like you've really fallen through the cracks in the support system to be stuck between several agencies all playing pass the ball.

I doubt anyone here will be able to offer much practical advice as the huge majority are students and wont have much experience with benefits or job hunting yet.

Could you not stay with any friends? Even if it's only in a sleeping bag on their sofa? This would then remove the financial requirements (could offer to cook/clean in return for food). Will allow you to get a job and then save towards a house deposit etc. Even a minimum wage shelf stacking would save enough to get your own place within a month.
young single males do have problems but 16 hours a week plus tax credits ought to allow you to save up unless you're spending money on drugs.
Also with a firm job offer you should have been able to get a bank overdraft to pay rent.

ask the council about the voluntary body offering depost schemes http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/local-authority-directory/watford-borough-council

get a job with accommodation in the hotel trade, domestic service or similar
Original post by parentlurker
young single males do have problems but 16 hours a week plus tax credits ought to allow you to save up unless you're spending money on drugs.
Also with a firm job offer you should have been able to get a bank overdraft to pay rent.


Young single males have to be over 25 and be working 30 hours a week at least to get tax credits.
Original post by OU Student
Young single males have to be over 25 and be working 30 hours a week at least to get tax credits.


sorry you are right. Still 16 hours at Β£6,50 is over Β£100 pounds a week and they have been living in a hostel, what's the money gone on? Hostels/services for the homeless usually have access to the internet available but they need a laptop!

The Post Office offer poste resante services for mail and it was still free of charge last year.

No-one to take-in mail for them, no other relatives apart from parents to help them out, no-one even willing to store a suitcase of warmer clothes when they left university.

Poor attempt at a con, unfortunately in pointing that out I help them improve it.
Firstly you need to swallow your pride and use every available resource you have. Slum it on a friend's couch and the more friends you have, the more you'll be able to 'rotate' and not feel as if you're being burdensome. I spent about a month on my friend's floor on a sleeping bag during which time I used gumtree to find a room. Ended up in a crowded house in east london sharing a room with some random peurto rican woman but deposit was low (Β£100) and low rent. It allowed me to save and move into somewhere better after a couple of months. You can find roomshares on gumtree at reasonable rates and often low desposits. Spareroom is also good for this. It's not ideal but it's a damn sight better than being homeless. PM if you want.
Try looking at the foyer federation


Posted from TSR Mobile
What about the Charity 'No Second Night Out'? They are based in London. Or The Salvation Army?
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 8
Hey

sorry to hear about you situation. I am going to suggest extended family but am guessing you might have already explored this. Maybe you feel it will be embarrassing to stay over until you get settled but it maybe a bit embarrassing but at least you will have a roof over your head while you sort the job thing out.

Is there any uncles, aunts or grandparents who could allow you to stay over their place?
Reply 9
Really sorry to hear about this! Have you asked your parents? I know you feel slighted by them but if they knew the situation they might help you out? Its worth a try I think. Any grandparents etc?

Have you tried getting an overdraft/credit card? Some credit cards offer Β£500 for people with no credit history. Have you tried extending your overdraft/getting a graduate overdraft/loan? Not ideal to get into debt but better than sleeping rough!
Wow, graduate to homeless, everything that is wrong with the system. Very unfortunate, I wish you the best and hopefully things turn around in 2015.

The ACCA/CIMA route is definitely worth following if possible. Have you not got any mates from MMU/outside life who could help out? You must have made some close friends during those three years. Can your parents not give you anything for a time? Do they know of your situation?

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