Petition against Cuts to Housing Benefit for under 25s

Yeah, I'm late to the party on this one. I've been thinking about how to write my response without getting personal but I'm not sure there is a way to discuss cutting housing benefits for people under 25 without getting into the specific examples of those who will be royally fucked over by this policy. For the sake of full disclosure here, I'm one of those feckless teenagers who got pregnant and had to be supported by the state. I had literally only moved out to got to uni and then had to move back in with my mother because I was having a baby. It was the same small 3 bed I grew up in but moving back in with a child is so very different. I had a tiny bedroom which was barely big enough for my bed, a cot, and a dresser. Having live-in babysitters was helpful as it meant I could save up to go to university [which I have done and quite successfully I might add]. But, and this is the huge but, I am one of the lucky ones. I have a supportive and lovely mother who helped me financially. Her house was big enough for me to move back into. There is no history of abuse and my mother was not dependent on benefits that she would lose by having another adult move back in with her. Many people under the age of 25 in receipt of housing benefit are not as lucky as I was.


This policy ignores the realities of people's individual lives. Cameron's parents have a large house big enough from him to have lived in as an adult but most people don't. In fact, the government is already trying to force people to downsize their houses after their children turn 18. Many people won't have a house large enough for a child to move back into; especially if they are renting themselves whilst in receipt of housing benefit. This policy doesn't take into account abusive parents. You can not force an 18 year old to remain living in a house with a physically, psychologically or sexually abusive parent. You can't force an 18 year old to hide their sexuality in order to live with homophobic parents. What happens if the child's room is now being used by an elderly or disabled relative? What happens if the parents themselves are in receipt of housing benefit and have had to move to a smaller property? 


All of these scenarios and more have been made on a thousand different blogs. There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said before. All I do know is that without housing benefit [and student loans, council tax benefit and income support during the summer], I wouldn't have graduated university with several first class degrees [both undergraduate and post-graduate]. I wouldn't be a published writer [and not just one who rants on blogs and Mumsnet]. Mostly, I wouldn't be me. And, that's what these horrendous cuts to the welfare state are doing: preventing millions of children from being who they should be. 

Petition

Dear {enter the name of your MP here}, 

Stop plans to remove housing benefits from young people 

I was extremely concerned to hear about the Prime Minister's proposal to remove Housing Benefit for people under the age of 25. 80,000 young people a year experience homelessness in this country, according to Centrepoint,  the UK's leading charity for homeless young people. Centrepoint says young people rely on Housing Benefit to keep a roof over their heads. These young people do not choose to become homeless. They are often forced out of home because of domestic violence or family breakdown. 

I am worried that cutting Housing Benefit for these vulnerable young people will be disastrous, as they simply do not have a family home to go back to.For homeless young people, Housing Benefit is a short-term solution which provides the support they need to get a job and live an independent life - a life not reliant on benefits. 

I therefore fear the Prime Minister's plans would not only lead to more homelessness, but also risk higher youth unemployment.As my local MP, I urge you to speak out against these plans and persuade the Prime Minister to drop these plans.