Hannah McGowan for The Spinoff On Friday night the recommendations from a wide-ranging study of our welfare system were released. Hannah McGowan, who has lived on a benefit for most of the past 20 years, writes about the indignities and stresses of her life – and the issues she hopes today’s report will address. The first time I went on a benefit was in 1997 after I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I’d recently had surgery for a burst abscess, a potentially fatal aspect of the incurable condition. Medications weren’t working, I’d lost 30cm of intestine already and my prognosis was bleak. I suddenly found myself unable to work and lost my burgeoning economic independence. I was already profoundly upset with my circumstances and the inability to work was a real kick in the teeth. My grandparents took me to a nice WINZ (Work and Income New Zealand) welfare office where I met a kind and compassionate caseworker. He was empathetic and professional. I miss him. The days of having the same WINZ caseworker are long gone. Losing a caseworker who understood me and watched my story unfold over the years was an enormous blow. Every time I have gone… Read full this story
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