Disposable crutches

In a caring society we help and look after those amongst us that get into difficulties and we support the weak that are unable to look after themselves. That's the minimum. Of course what we do not want to do is for these self same people to become dependant on us for ever more, and there is the rub. It is a fact of life that when offered a crutch we quickly adapt to it and become dependant on it and fearful if there is any suggestion they are going to be taken away. As a Nation we just cannot afford to provide comfortable reassuring crutches to who so ever needs them. But we do want to be caring.

There are no simple answers and several aspects to this particular conundrum. First we all have to accept that a utopia where everyone can have their expected three bedroom detached house in the countryside, yet close to family and friends, and free of pollution just is not attainable. As a bottom live we have to come to terms that as a constrained Nation, as we are, without a vibrant growing commerce or industry, we just cannot afford anything like that utopia as a minimum standard for all our citizens. A more realistic scenario has to prevail, shelter from the weather extremes, basic sanitation perhaps short of a personal bath or shower, basic cooking facilities perhaps no more than a microwave and a sink, a room where families can keep together again short of separate bedrooms and maybe having to share in communal living spaces. Grim compared to the vision of what we expect as our birth right but sufficient to keep us together, warm safe and hygienic.

The difficulty is in giving generous support for sufficient time to let a person or family in crisis recoup and recover yet not undermine the need for them to take stock of their new circumstance and find a path out of their difficulties for themselves. No reliance on those crutches so easily given. First off the support has to be immediate and untainted with labels of scroungers, cheats or fraudsters, so loved of government departments. Given but implicit of payback of any assistance given in cash or kind. We help you so you can help others is the deal. Given but with the support, encouragement and finally judge and jury of a mentor, to coax, advise, offer special training or group sessions, whatever to assist during that recovery period. A period that does have a finite future end date, but constantly adjusted and redefined according to the mentors assessment of the efforts being made.

Yes our citizens must stand on their own two feet, be confident and independent and not constantly nagged, bullied and harassed into submission by government policy. However that is true for those successfully finding their own way, when you have to ask for help, help is ring fenced and bring some loss of personal freedom and other compliance with others jurisdictions. So the mentor is an individual volunteer not some anonymous official concerned with throughput, formal procedural documentation and statistical targets. As individuals there will be great variety in the way mentors see their role and the support their people need. So mentors must be subject to monitoring and receive day to day updates in best practises and comparators from their local patch. I have greater faith in any citizen to see through a bleeding heart pitch than some official having the sense to understand the blatantly obvious. That is the safety net for me. On a one to one mentor to person in need basis, better targeted necessary help and an living overview of all the ups and downs progress made. Mentors making life or death judgements to scale down the help if recovery falters or is not happening, extend it if the prospects are bright or there is a temproary setback to be overcome and a slowing taper off after when recovery is in place to let the person/family recover before the claw back begins.

Not perfect, open to abuse, yes, but that person on top of the clapham common bus has a lot more nounce about try-ons, tales of woe and unfairness than all the official organisations put together.The stumbling block for all persons in crisis comes down to employment. If only they could get an appropriate job, there would be income to buy answers and their self-esteem would shoot up. Employers have a right to expect self-discipline and performance. Employees have aspirations to sustain a life-style, follow a particular skill or interest and to hang on until that cushy job everyone else has turns up for them. The employment market is rife with mismatched expectations. A mentor is better placed than any other organisation to best see and understand the opportunities and needs for those they are directly involved with. If there is no employment to be had, full stop, there are no options left. Then the bottom line is, if they do not, cannot help themselves out of the crisis then bit by bit their claims on 'normal' living standards are whittled away until they are left with just the bottom line. We as a society still need to care for them and we still need to help them as best as can with the utmost skill we can bring to bear. No person is beyond hope but it may be a long and costly road to retrain a broken life lived over many many years back into a useful citizen. That is our ultimate challenge as a society. To care enough to make it happen.

If there is no employment then this Nation is broken and there is no help available to anyone no matter how needy. I doubt this is or ever will be the case. More usually it is a matter of coming to terms with the adjustments necessary before that only job that is on offer is acceptable and is better than other options. But any job without hidden claw-back penalties where it is better to take state aid than to work, we have to move well away from that. Employers also have to face up to their social responsibilities too. Paying the minimum wage or less may get them cheap labour but that is only short term gain. They need to invest into people, not just as grunts to perform on command but really motivated to help the industry they are working in to grow and prosper, as a partnership, not some archaic lord and servant relationship. Ah well Nirvana come tomorrow.