Dear Mr Cameron,
this is the second open letter I have written to you ( you might remember this one) concerning the effect that benefit cuts and sanctions are having on so many people in this country. As before I write to you from Blackpool, and the stories that I have to tell are rooted there, though I suspect that they are echoed around the country. After the clear dissatisfaction showed at last weeks Local and EU elections I wonder if you are perhaps in the mood to hear the voices calling out for help under what for so many is an oppressive and unjust regime.
Today we opened the doors at our twice weekly drop in to 98 people, we gave out 65 food bags, and were sadened and angered to hear that 18 of those folk are currently homeless. I have been asked if we collect our statistics for research purposes, the answer is yes we do, but in some ways reluctantly because we deal with people, unique one of a kind people and NOT with numbers.
As I chatted with folk today I was struck again by how much listening and encouraging we do, and I guess I want to ask you if you really think that sanctioning the desperate is really they way forward, it is rather like kicking someone for being down. Take John for example ( not his name), he was recently admitted to a rehab centre for a week to help him to conquer his alcoholism, not only was this not long enough, but it did not address his underlying mental health problems, he was discharged with a note to attend a support group the next day with the threat that if he did not attend he would be sanctioned. Once home, feeling scared and vulnerable he did not make the appointment, so he has been punished, we are currently helping him to get into the routine of going to appointments, encouraging him along the way and helping him while th sanction lasts with food. He was not irresponsible or lazy, he was simply vulnerable and needing support, he feels as if the system is against him, and being without money to meet his basic needs only reinforces that feeling.
We meet many people who flourish with encouragement, many of our one time "clients" ( a word we avoid when we meet) are now volunteers and helping out in a number of ways, they are learning to manage their budgets, and in some of our lovely friends we see a real growth in confidence. When people are encouraged, supported and loved they grow, when they are gently helped along the way they begin to take responsibility that they may have been to confused, or afraid to take beforehand. Obviously not everyone falls into this category and we have been known to give one or two a metaphorical kick up the backside, but the truth is that very often it is the most vulnerable who are sanctioned ( read punished).
I guess I want to ask you to open your eyes and look beyond the statistics, I invite you to meet the people who have become my friends, people whose dignity and value has often been stolen from them, people who when they are seen as people respond with dignity. A young couple who came to us utterly down and out have become valued friends and are curently organising a fundraiser to support our work. A lovely woman who had been told she was useless and unwanted for years now serves teas and cofffees every week, one of the community members watching her on Monday lent over to me and whispered "she's a good sort is Mary ( not her name), she always has been really". Likewise Frank ( yes not his name) who came to us because sanctions meant he was living on next to nothing has been helped to apply for DLA, and has become a regular and valued volunteer, almost nothing is to much for him.
We meet and talk, we share stories and celebrate together, this year I will be conducting 2 weddings and a baptism for community members. We share together in worship too and most strikingly at the communion table we find that we are all equal in the eyes of the God who created us, the broken bread reminds us not only of the broken body of Christ but also that we are all vulnerable, and of the reality that we all need food, basic food to live, whether that food is finest caviar or beans on toast we all need food, and I have to say I would rather eat beans with this community than I would feast alone or with those I would struggle to call friends because of their attitude to these friends. The richness is not found in false richess, and to be honest I have to say I think that is where capitalism goes wrong. Capitalism panders to our greed and encourages us to want more and more, capitalism puts more value on things than people and tells us lies about our worth.
As a Christian I invite you to read the Beattitudes again, read them as actual ststements without over spiritualising them and hear the depth of the blessings to be found there;
3 ‘Blessed are the poor (in spirit), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Add to those these 9 quotes from Jesus inviting us to reflect on what is really important.
Surely it is what is really important that should concern the leader of our nation, so I leave you with some thoughts from leaders and thinkers throughout history:
- Aristotle has often been quoted as saying you can judge a nation by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens.
- A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.
~Samuel Johnson, Boswell: Life of Johnson - The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.~John E. E. Dalberg, Lord Acton, The History of Freedom in Antiquity, [1877].
- "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Ghandi
- Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.~Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973), My Several Worlds[1954].
- The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer Bonhoeffer (German Pastor and Nazi opponent who died in a concentration camp) - "...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey [November 1, 1977]
- "Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members -- the last, the least, the littlest."
~Cardinal Roger Mahony, In a 1998 letter, Creating a Culture of Life
Yours in hope,
Reverend Sally Coleman
