In 2021, I was admitted to hospital for two blood transfusions. I had been bleeding for a full 18 months by then and was life-threateningly anaemic. What followed were years of medical gaslighting and fighting for the bare minimum of support. The medicial fight is ongoing. It left me physically disabled, unable to walk more than 20 metres at a time. I'm mostly housebound.

When you apply for benefits in the UK, nobody tells you what you may be entitled to even if you tell them you had to leave your last job because of illness. So it took years to get any support, let alone enough to buy food. Between 2019 and 2023, I was living in destitution. Then I finally got "LCWRA", which essentially is an extra benefit if they deem you unable to work. From then, I was living in poverty instead of destitution. The doctor who assessed me told me about PIP - another benefit for disabled people that could make a real difference as it costs about £1,000 more per month for disabled people to live the same life that non-disabled people live. Not thrive, just survive and live.

So I started the process and would go through two years of a fight, which ended in a tribunal hearing in March 2025. I was awarded PIP and received a two-year backdated payment. I was no longer living in poverty. It was a lot of money, but there were a lot of costs to catch up on. Bills to be paid that couldn't before, accessible furniture, mobility aids; the money was gone quickly, but it allowed me an accessible life. The continued monthly payment kept me out of poverty.

But because it was won in a tribunal hearing, it had an end date: 23 April 2026. Which meant I had to re-apply for PIP in November 2025. No time to even recover from the seven years of trauma that homelessness, emotional abuse and the medical fights brought me. And now I'm waiting. I don't know when (or if) I'll receive PIP going forward. My assessment was on 12 May 2026; a decision from then takes up to eight weeks and then there‘s another four-week wait to receive the first payment.

In the meatime, I am pushed straight back into poverty. Relying on free food again. Except this time, I am not as mobile as I used to be; driving around for free food and carrying it between locations and into the house is simply

no longer an option. Back to daily suffering, worrying. So I'm asking for four months of PIP covered (about £750 per month) to be able to breathe while they are doing their thing and keep me waiting; plus a little extra to cover fees.

If you can give, THANK YOU! It truly means the world! If you can‘t give but want to help, sharing makes a massive difference. Thank you so much.

Things beyond food, supplements and herbs that PIP allows me to fund that I wouldn‘t be able to otherwise:

• new shoes when mine break

• new period underwear when I need it as I‘m bleeding 24/7

• new clothes when mine fall apart

• repairs and ongoing maintenance for my car, my only mobility aid getting me out of the house

• pay for therapy that the NHS cannot provide but says I need

• getting my hair cut so the nightsweats aren‘t as debilitating

These things have become luxuries to me over the years despite being essential to a life with dignity. Thank you for helping me maintain somewhat of a normal life.