Touretteshero

Today might just feel like another spring-less Monday but its actually a deal breaker for anyone who is disabled.  Today we officially wave goodbye to the Disability Living Allowance which helps 3.2 million people in this country pay for care and to get out of the house, to be replaced by the natty-named PIP scheme. That’s 3.2 million people who are going to need to be reassessed and with a 30% budget cut ahead bets are being laid on whether it will be Atos or G4S that get the contract. For a system that is supposed to reduce insecurity for people that need the help this is a really really bad start to the week.And spare a thought for the carers. As a trade unionist I feel a little sick in my tum thinking about potentially hundreds of thousands of people who today become employers. Yes, the PIP puts people in charge of how they spend their money, all well and good but it also means that carers are paid directly by their clients. With the demise of the Social Care Association last year there is no professional body sticking up for carers in the UK and not wishing to be rude or anything but disabled or not, any one of us can be a horrible boss.Welfare reform is a confusing business, especially when major reform gets slipped through on a bank holiday Monday when we’ve developed chocolate induced diabetes, so to try to make some sense of what’s gong on we had a chat with Jess, who has Tourettes and works. Yes, she works in a real job and at night she masquerades as a Touretteshero don’t ya know.This is a podcast about Jess’s job, an introduction to Touretteshero,  what Jess knows about asking for help and her top tip for surviving work.You can download these little podcasts onto your phone or computer and then settle down to a psychic high five. The lady will make you rediscover your love for the human race which has withered on the vines of what we laughably used to call Spring.