I’m on 3 types of benefits but go on 5 holidays a year – people call me ‘criminal’ but I deserve a break like everyone
WHETHER it’s a wee dram in Scotland, a flurry on the races in Newmarket or beers on the Belgium beach – I love getting away as often as I can.
I rarely slum it, aiming for 4-star establishments on the whole and the wining and dining that comes with it.
I get away on a short break at least five times a year, mostly in the UK, but sometimes I venture a little further afield in Europe.
I know many of you will be thinking ‘how does she have the annual leave?’ – well, the short answer is, I don’t.
I’m not the wife of a millionaire or a wealthy heiress, in fact, I’m on Universal Credit.
I get half my £910 allowance for living with a serious mental illness called Schizo-Affectiver Disorder and psychosis, and the other half for caring for my partner who I now live with (he’s a full-time wheelchair user).
Universal Credit isn’t the only benefit I receive. I also get £290 a month Personal Independent Payments (PIP) for living with my mental illness.
This is currently under review because my severe mental illness isn’t seen as permanent by the DWP – they believe it could get better or worsen, so they ask me to reapply for my Personal Independent Payment every couple of years.
I am told in around one year I may need an interview on the phone or in-person and depending on what the assessor thinks my benefits could be axed.
Living with a severe mental illness can often make life hard with daily anxiety and paranoia and frequent insomnia.
I believe I am entitled to my benefits which mean I don’t have to work a full-time job which in the past has worsened my illness.
But I also believe I’m entitled to holiday as often and as stylishly as I wish.
Why not? Isn’t it up to me how I spend my benefits? Don’t disabled and unemployed people also deserve a break?
Holidays have never cost us much anyway because I sometimes work and combine it with a break. I can work a little bit with my Universal Credit, and get paid. I had to have an interview with an assessor for this who decided I was not self-employed but instead ‘not gainfully self-employed’ as I only make around £4500 annually and it’s all very sporadic.
The money I do make pays for my breaks. If I work in Scotland, I’ll turn it into a two-night break.
This is called a ‘workation’ where I combine the small amount of work I’m allowed to do with a holiday.
Last month, for example, I had an hour talk booked in Amsterdam and I used the fee for travel and an extra couple of nights in a hotel on the Belgian coast.
What better way to reward yourself for a job well done than with a few wheat beers with a sea view?
I also run a small charitable magazine which covers accessible travel so I organise trips around the country in exchange for a review by my partner in his wheelchair.
We watched the England footy finals in a plush cinema in an old converted mill in Clitheroe, Lancashire just last week and were able to stay in a 4-star hotel for a night in exchange for a day testing wheelchairs across the Forest of Bowland the following day.
ERICA'S TIPS ON HOW TO HOLIDAY FOR FREE
Across the UK and globally, there’s WWOOF too – farming a few hours a day in exchange for food and accommodation which I’ve done in the past for a month-long break in Lanarkshire, Scotland which I did after a hospital stay.
I was on the older Employment and Support Allowance back then, and did simple farming work, like planting and weeding, in exchange for 3 meals a day and a single bed in a shared dorm.
If you want to go even cheaper and avoid the £20 annual subscription fee to WWOOF try HelpX.net which is similar but free.
It also includes more types of ‘work’ like cleaning homes or admin duties.
And this spring we also stayed on ‘Millionaire’s Row’ in Newmarket.
The Bedford Lodge hotel was located in the famous race-town who are currently working hard to make the town accessible for all.
They put on a steak dinner for us and also handed us VIP passes to spend a day at the races (I lost my few £5 bets, though!)
And for the past three years VisitScotland have hosted us on workations too.
By far a highlight for us is staying in the luxurious 4-star Cringletie which has won awards for accessibility and we even took unlimited gin tipples at the 1881 distillery in nearby Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
It’s not all beers and big beds though.
Looking at comments to other Universal Credit claimants who dare to mention they’ve been on holiday on X (formerly known as Twitter) you’d be forgiven for thinking we are criminals rather than disabled.
People like me are trolled for daring to have a break.
But just because I’m on benefits doesn’t mean I can’t treat myself, especially with the caring allowance I now receive.
Life can be hard living and managing mine and another’s disability – please don’t make it any harder for us.
What is schizoaffective disorder?
Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health problem where you experience psychosis as well as mood symptoms.
Some people have suggested that schizoaffective disorder sits in the middle of a spectrum, with schizophrenia at one end and bipolar disorder at the other. This is because these diagnoses share many similar symptoms. But schizoaffective disorder is recognised as a separate diagnosis.
You might have times when you struggle to look after yourself. Or when your doctors feel that you lack insight into your behaviour and how you’re feeling.
Symptoms can begin at any age, but usually start when you’re a young adult. Some people only experience symptoms of schizoaffective disorder once in their life.
Source: Mind