When we began to research the impact of redundancy on the lives of the individuals experiencing it, harrowing results emerged.  Words such as "despair", "debt", "worthlessness" and even "suicide" arise time and again in the responses to our questions. It is reassuring, therefore, to see a feature in today's 'Comment is Free' section of the Guardian giving voice to some of these unemployed individuals.  Good things can come from redundancy - often it provides the perfect motivation to undertake an entirely new project or fulfil long-held ambitions.  However, it's all too easy to underestimate the profound emotional impact it can have.  Hopefully, these striking personal accounts will serve as a reminder. Below is an account from Nimsudo.

To read the full article and other contributions click here.

My story

I became unemployed last year and applied for jobseeker's allowance. I completed a 52-page application form and attended an "interview" with a claims assessor at the Jobcentre Plus. I was told that as I was a self-employed architect and the director of a limited company, I would not be entitled to my £65.45 a week unless I dissolved my company first and "made myself available for work". I was distraught, depressed, unemployed and about to strike off the company I had worked so hard to build. I spoke with a senior figure at Jobcentre Plus HQ, who told me that my assessment had been mishandled. I wasn't required to strike off my company after all. They "allowed" me 13 weeks to find an architect position, and after that I had to accept any job offered. I applied to the local council for housing benefit to pay my rent. Circumstances decreed that I was only entitled to housing benefit for a one-bedroom flat, so I had to move out. Rather than move to a council flat, I lied about my income, prepared myself for debt and took a flat suitable for my children. I accepted architectural work after 14 weeks and informed Jobcentre Plus. They told me that my jobseeker's allowance and housing benefit would stop immediately. I wouldn't be paid for at least two months for my new work, but because I was now "unavailable for work", I could no longer claim any benefits. Being in financial limbo, I lied again. I had gone from being a professional architect running a practice with a modest turnover to a lying benefit cheat trying to survive, literally. Some surveys estimate a third of all architects are out of work because of the recession.

My recommendation

I think benefit claims assessors, being the first point of contact with recently redundant claimants, should be better trained to deal with depressed, fearful, and in some cases borderline suicidal human beings. Also, the system of claiming separately for jobseeker's allowance and housing benefit is ridiculous. If you are in need of £65.45 a week to live, you probably cannot afford to pay your rent. One application to suit both please, and a bit thinner than 52 pages. We are not all scroungers looking to milk the state. Some of us are hard-working individuals looking for a light in a very dark tunnel.