In which religion fails

[Victoria J]

I agree that families should get priority, Hell, if I was getting a place at the expense of a family going without, I'd give it up for them in an instant,

I wasn't particularly saying I believe families should have priority (though I guess if I decided I'd probably keep it that way) - just that that's how it is. "Priority need" is a specific legal test. I'm glad you managed to find something - I know it's horribly difficult.

The reason I do my job and not a housing officers job is because I'd want to help everyone. I don't think it is OK for anyone to be homeless. I think people are too young until they are too old...

It does irk me somewhat though that Immigrants from other countries seem to get a higher priority than others (Not that I have a problem with Immigrants, it's the differentiating treatment that bothers me)

They never get higher priority. They get the same as a citizen, or less.

I feel quite strongly about this having once spent time making charity applications for families with disabled children. Having helped, for example, a family on restricted benefits due to immigration status have to ask for £30 to buy the special shoes their child needed to walk made me pretty mad. Or there are the schemes for hardship money/vouchers where if they mess up and don't give you anything for a while they won't make up the difference because the fact that you failed to starve to death proves you weren't really "destitute".

Grr.

I do also see people who are taking the piss. I'm not sympathetic if someone comes here and believes they should instantly be able to get assistance, when they were perfectly secure at home. If you're looking for work - give up while you're still able to pay the fare home ! I don't want to work is not a reason for not having to look for work ! (Common with women from cultures where they don't normally work). I had a man look shocked the other day when I said if he wanted to bring his wife to the UK and couldn't work to support her an alternative would be to prove their was work available for him (not my judgement - again it is the law) - he acted offended and said "As an Asian man I would never be supported by my wife!" - we'll I'm pretty sure then that the idea is that you support her My Asian colleague at that one.

But immigrants do not get extra money. It is the most common statement I hear from someone who goes on the be racist. "I'd get that money if I had a turban" being common in the town I used to work in, a town with no Sikh community, and no one in turbans.

Rant over. For now.

Victoria J

[Geek King]

I agree that families should get priority, Hell, if I was getting a place at the expense of a family going without, I'd give it up for them in an instant, it took me 7 months of being homeless (during winter last year) and long hard work and a lot of luck to get the place I did, even then I was only just lucky.

Luck, outside of pure gambling, is the ability to take advantage of opportunity. Don't sell yourself short by calling it ' just luck.' You're there because you worked hard to get there, feel good about that.

[RayvenQ]

Luck, outside of pure gambling, is the ability to take advantage of opportunity. Don't sell yourself short by calling it ' just luck.' You're there because you worked hard to get there, feel good about that.

More like having the luck of getting opportunities that you can take advantage of :P

In my case it was getting to know the caretaker of the place my mum lives at and having him volountarily put in a good word for me.

The sad fact is, the places that I'd apply for were the same ones week after week that were never given to anyone.

[Geek King]

In my case it was getting to know the caretaker of the place my mum lives at and having him volountarily put in a good word for me.

And he did that because you were a huge fucktrumpet to him, and treated your mother horribly, right? Of course not! You didn't know it, but you were making your own opporunity by proving to him that you were a decent sort, and deserved a chance when it came up.

Furthermore, you proved him right when you showed you could keep a job, once obtained. It wasn't luck that they didn't realize how terrible you were, its that you weren't terrible.

Luck is for people who need something to blame besides themselves. There may be a small component of luck in all things--I've been in computing too long to think otherwise--but most skills come from the ability to cope with the unexpected, be it SC, power outage, opportunity, or the Mad Prophet Murphy's Law.

In the end, I may offer up the occasional prayer to the fictional Saint Vidicon, but its my own screwdrivers opening the computer case.