TSBC says…how many homeless entrepreneurs have you come across?

TSBC firmly believes that Cameron’s intention to cut housing benefits to under 25s is misguided, mistimed and misses the point of benefits for the young. Austere times call for austere measures but in this case Cameron has been blinded by the prospect of making savings of around 2 million pounds. This is surely set to create 2 million more social problems for the youngest, most deprived members of our society that TSBC works with towards self-help through enterprise.

 

Whilst Cameron is spinning this latest set of cuts as a means of making the young more independent by forcing them into work (and at the same time playing to many of the old Conservative mantra’s of the “welfare scrounger”!), he is evidently mistimed. When the priority should be on providing the safety nets to ensure that young people can enter into sustainable employment, this latest announcement seems to do just the opposite.

 

Fortunately, the government has conceded that this measure will not be extended to those in care or who have left a violent household. However, from our experience of working with young people from impoverished and disenfranchised backgrounds- there are a plethora of ways to fall through the system and find yourself living in poverty, and for these people, no exceptions have been made.

 

We too at the TBSC want to empower young people to gain independence through employment or self-employment. However, some fundamentals must be in order if this is to occur, a key fundamental being a roof over your head. This is heightened when we turn to TSBC service users, who having battled for years with drug or alcohol problems, have an even greater need for literal foundations upon which to build their recovery. The complexity of their psychological requirements means that our service users couldn’t set up a business and recover from their addictions and the gain self esteem to set up their own businesses if they didn’t have a stable environment which is now being threatened.

 

This shortsighted measure fails to marry the concept that housing benefits support work by engendering the very principles of aspiration and inspiration that we have found to be critical in getting people into work and keeping them there.

 

How many entrepreneurs have you come across that are homeless? The government may claim to champion the principles of entrepreneurship by backing the new loan fund launched in London aimed at helping unemployed disadvantaged entrepreneurs realise their business dreams. Yet, with the same spoon, they are taking away from this very group by slashing at their safety net.

 

Freneka Mumford
Policy & Development Manager

Follow Freneka: @FrenekaMumford

 

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