AN influencer from Salisbury says she “wholeheartedly believes” that changes to Personal Independence Payments will lead to people losing their lives.
Saskia Lambert, 23, is a fashion journalist and influencer from Salisbury.
Her life completely changed at 18 years old, when she was diagnosed with three disabilities: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome (POTs).
Speaking about POTs, Saskia said: “The way I explain it to people, everyone’s a bike and have all their six gears, if they work harder they go up a gear and I have no gears on my bike so I’m constantly stuck on the same road, meaning, if I’m doing something, it destroys my body a lot more than it ever would for another person.”
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is caused by aberrant mast cells or the inappropriate release of substances found within them, resulting in symptoms as severe as anaphylaxis.
Regarding Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Saskia added: “I constantly joke with people that I have the physique of an 87-year-old, but physically, I do. Unfortunately, mine presents primarily in my spine and neck, causing me significant mobility limitations.”
Her career began when she was in university studying fashion design, and she started posting videos on social media as a hobby. Working in social media and fashion had been a dream of hers, which she realized in spite of her severe diseases.
Saskia added, “I thought, if this gets anywhere, it would be fantastic. If not, who cares?
“My agents contacted me – I had no following at the time – and they genuinely saw something in me, and I believe they saw that I cared about this industry.
“It was the start of a very beautiful relationship, they’re the coolest people in the world.”
Everything must be thoroughly prepared and managed to make sure she can carry out her job safely and without becoming unwell – which might frequently mean turning down opportunities.
She, like many other people in the UK, relies on Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which help with the additional living costs associated with a handicap.
Saskia stated, “For me, PIP is a lifeline. I believe many have the impression that it is the same amount of money as Universal Credit, which covers your rent, but it is not. I’m on the highest PIP, and I believe I get £300 every month.
“Which, I know is a lot of money, but in the grand scheme, compared to Universal Credit, it’s not really the same.”
While Universal Credit is means tested, PIP considers people’s ability to complete tasks, such as whether they can do so safely, how long it takes, how a condition affects the activity, and what assistance is required.
It is made up of two components: everyday life and mobility, and persons may be qualified for one or both payments.
The payment assists people in paying for their medications, accessibility, transportation, and basic necessities such as cutlery, clothing, equipment, or syringes.
In addition to the existing eligibility criteria, the government is now requiring a minimum score of four on at least one of the daily living tasks to be eligible for the daily living component of the benefit. Mobility payments will be unaffected.
Saskia stated, “I wholeheartedly believe it’s going to be detrimental and will result in people losing their lives for a variety of reasons, one of which is that everyone on it will have their mental health taken away from them.
“Mental health is already difficult enough; having your financial support taken away will force anyone suffering from mental illness to deteriorate significantly.
“And then there’s the practical aspect: people won’t be able to pay their rent, so they’ll lose their homes, and what will the government do about it? There is already a housing problem.
“It’s just this massive snowball effect – people can’t afford their meds, then what happens?”
Saskia, who receives both benefits, will keep her mobility payments while being reviewed for the daily living payment.
“One of the medications I have to pay for is my heart medication. “If I couldn’t afford them, I could literally die,” she explained.
“One of them costs £100 each box, just to stay alive. I truly believe that many lives will be lost. I’ve been told that I sound overly dramatic for saying that, which is sad but true.
“My PIP is primarily mobility PIP since, due to the deterioration of my joints, I am unable to stand for lengthy periods of time; my POTS causes me to faint while standing.
“That should be fine because they are not touching movement, but I’m not sure how the other side will come out. But I feel strangely privileged because I am so crippled that I touch the mobility portion; otherwise, I would be screwed.”
Despite the changes, Saskia encourages people to be open-minded about disabilities: “To protect disabled people is to protect yourself,” she says.
“It was only in the last year or two that I overcame my internalised ableism and accepted that I am disabled. I had no idea how ableist I was; I assumed I didn’t appear disabled and wasn’t a disabled person.
“I completely understand why people have this perspective, because I previously had it myself. But I’m the ideal example of why people should be terrified, since I never imagined my life would turn out this way.”
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