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Hacking Counts

morningstarMorning.Star wrote 04/14/2018 at 06:17 • 4 min read • Like

If you know me personally, you'll know I'm sole carer to my profoundly disabled daughter Bea. I look after her unpaid for 102 hours a week because the UK government really cant get their sh*t together enough to look after her properly so I can work myself.

Their idea of helping is to shut her away from society where she's isolated and forced to spend her days with 'others of her kind'. Its ridiculously discriminating to a 'normal' person to expect them to put up with this. Disabilities are not themselves equal, and some of her companions are able-bodied like her but unable to control their behaviour. Others have capacity but are not able-bodied, and yet they are all secreted away from society where they do not upset the Norms with their disturbed behaviour.

Bea does not have disturbed behaviour, in fact she's disturbed by the others' and she's not alone in that. Luckily, she had me to pay attention when they coerced her into it the first time. It took me six months to defeat the Social Worker, who took advocacy and duty of care and then marginalised me with a concerted campaign. She didnt bargain on me though, and despite being one of their Secret Weapons I managed to regain advocacy and get Bea out of care, have the social worker removed from the case and get some support.

That was three years ago this April, and I'm still caring for Bea on benefits in poverty after her care package was never setup. Social Services have spent their time wisely, sweeping their wrongdoings under the rug along with the pieces of my life and denying us service and resources we're entitled to. It's gone back-and-forth for these years while I battled for Bea's rights and my own voice to be heard.

Finally I uncovered the core of the rats nest and tried to fumigate it, but unfortunately the UK government has changed the laws intended to manage our rights to our own information so that they can charge us for access to it, manipulate it how they like and then deny everything with blanket redactions under transparency law. They are little more than the scammers that are ruining our free and open networks. I did however manage to uncover the fact that I'm entitled to an annual grant from an organisation setup to help outside of the social care system.

Carers Support were misled into thinking Bea has been in care all this time because the system didnt update its records, deliberately, so this would happen. Carer's Support however, have a remit, and being independent decided to honour theirs with an immediate grant and an apology, which I accepted gracefully. But here's where the trouble starts.

The current social worker decided to poke his oar in. And when I was asked what the grant would cover as I'd have to provide receipts for it, being County money and thus audited, I asked for 'clothes and stuff' which I needed. Apparently that isnt an accepted use of the grant, its for 'additional goods or services to improve the living quality of the carer' and not essentials like clothing or food. So, to push it through quickly they decided my hobbies were important, and I've been bitching about the fact I'm not in the Prize this year.

Thats because if I won something, benefits regulations mean it'd be taken off me or my benefits revoked, so its not worth me entering. Utter thieves...

So the County, bunch of hacking counts that they are, applied on my behalf for 'Robot Parts' which I have to spend the grant on and provide receipts for, so that I may enter the Prize this year against my wishes, lose any award, and remain a carer for the duration of the competition because I'm using carer grant money.

I broached this with Hackaday itself, the founders were of course absolutely appalled but legally bound by their own regulations and cant do anything about this but let me enter and support me in the event I win something.

Thank you for your advice and support, Hackaday, it's greatly appreciated. Recognising me in this capacity makes me the UK's formal representative with official support, and my entries will bear this information for the publicity.

And there will be publicity ;-)

Rest assured though, fellow HaD'ers, that the playing field is level and fair and I'll be competing on even terms like anyone here.

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AVR wrote 04/16/2018 at 17:17 point

if you made Jolly Wrencher with sunglasses sticker, I'd buy like 10.

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Morning.Star wrote 04/19/2018 at 20:18 point

Heh, now thats a thought, I'll look into having some made when I do the TShirt. I take it you mean vinyls... :-)

Thanks :-D

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Dr. Cockroach wrote 04/14/2018 at 07:06 point

Right On... and the Jolly Wrencher never looked so cool :-)

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