Heather storyline on EastEnders

[leelee]

I find it hard to believe. Single parents earn more than me and my husband! But I imagine it does happen to some people, possibly people who smoke and spend a lot of their money on cigarettes.

Bit of a sweeping statement there?

Believe it or not - not everyone is aware of what they are entitled to.

 

[tessica123]

i get feeling that ee doesnt want to promote benifts as heather got huge council tax bill

plus when anyone out of work they never seem to go to jobcentr

a nice ending to this would be a stry line about her getting right help money wise and benifits

all soaps are same never mention claiming anything

 

[leelee]

i get feeling that ee doesnt want to promote benifts as heather got huge council tax bill

plus when anyone out of work they never seem to go to jobcentr

a nice ending to this would be a stry line about her getting right help money wise and benifits

all soaps are same never mention claiming anything

It would defo be a good end to the story. I see that Dot brought her to the citizens advice to try and sort herself out but its a shame that the storyline didn't focus on them helping her.

 

[stacie-leigh]

I find it hard to believe. Single parents earn more than me and my husband! But I imagine it does happen to some people, possibly people who smoke and spend a lot of their money on cigarettes.

Bit of a sweeping statement there?

Believe it or not - not everyone is aware of what they are entitled to.

I cannot believe that many people aren't at all aware of the benefit system. Alright I'm sure that people who live on the streets probably aren't aware of the help they are entitled to, but Heather isn't one of those people.

 

[leelee]

I find it hard to believe. Single parents earn more than me and my husband! But I imagine it does happen to some people, possibly people who smoke and spend a lot of their money on cigarettes.

Bit of a sweeping statement there?

Believe it or not - not everyone is aware of what they are entitled to.

I cannot believe that many people aren't at all aware of the benefit system. Alright I'm sure that people who live on the streets probably aren't aware of the help they are entitled to, but Heather isn't one of those people.

Unless you are the scriptwriter for EastEnders I doubt you can categorically say that Heather isn't aware of what she is entitled to?

The very fact that she had to be directed to her local CAB suggests that she isn't aware of what benefits she could claim.

 

[MrsGlitz]

It was very uncomfortable and I think she didn't know what she was entitled to. Plenty of people don't.

 

[Louise23]

I cried watching it!! I just thought when she said to the baby "I know ur hungry george" My heart broke.. And when she left him to go find her mum for help.. She must be not thinking straight. She must truely be desperate. I would hate to think that it could happen ever. It plays on my mind after seeing something like that.. I think of my own who are lovely children but very ... not ungrateful- they appreciate anything you do for them/give them but very .. i dunno expectant? Like they expect when we go to shop they'll get a magazine..and at a weekend we'll go cinema or bowling.. and we do because we can afford these little luxeries.. but when I see something like that I feel awful.. I continue to think.. my kids are eating a tiny bit of a meal and throwing it.. some poor lil kiddies might not get the option to have 3/4 meals a day! I hate wasting things it gets me so cross mainly for this reason. I hope everything works out for heather and the lovelky lil bub - i know itgs only a tv programme but it happens for real. So sad!

 

[leelee]

It was very uncomfortable and I think she didn't know what she was entitled to. Plenty of people don't.

I agree. Some people are so cynical.

I work with people with disabilities and I worked with one young girl who had a brain injury and a very mild learning disability. She was living with her Mum (who was a single parent) and they had been really struggling financially. They weren't aware that she was entitled to DLA and the back pay and regular money made a huge difference to their lives. That is just one example.

 

[tu123]

My grandparents rasied me and it wasnt until my grandfather died (my nan had MS) that i was told he was entitled to carers allowance, benefit for me (apparently my mum had still been claiming it). He had a social worker and district nurses once a day to help with nan but no one ever once told him anything

And he would have been too proud to ask i think.

I expect Heather's situation happens more than we would think.

 

[elephant29]

I find it hard to believe. Single parents earn more than me and my husband! But I imagine it does happen to some people, possibly people who smoke and spend a lot of their money on cigarettes.

Slight generlisation there luv!

I would argue the point the most single mum don't earn anywhere near as much as me and my OH and we both work fulltime. Heather doesnt smoke in the show and it's happened to her so again not sure that this is quite true!

xxx

 

[MrsGlitz]

I consider myself fairly bright but I didn't know we were entitled to HB while I was on SMP.

 

[MrsGlitz]

Also, we have to remember that Heather has always had her mum or Shirley to sort things out, she's never really done things herself. When she became a permanent character, it was Shirley she lived with, who found her the job in the laundrette, helped her move her stuff etc. I get the impression she has always been very reliant on others, quite naive and not particularly bright (Sorry, couldn't think of a kinder way to put it!).

 

[superbecks]

I find it hard to believe. Single parents earn more than me and my husband! But I imagine it does happen to some people, possibly people who smoke and spend a lot of their money on cigarettes.

I find this comment absolutely disgusting. And no i'm not a single parent.

 

[storm4mozza]

urgh i dont know the storyline and to be honest from what ive read in these posts i dont want to know, im bloody fed up with eastenders and its sick storylines, i havent watched it in weeks and dont plan to again. corrie all the way x -_-

 

[KittyVentura]

I don't watch soaps but MIL was over last night watching this and I caught it before we went for dinner. It was very sad. Heather appears to be the most tragic character ever made.

Makes me very appreciative that we've never had to (and hopefully never will have to) live pay-day to pay-day and/or wonder where our next meal will come from or if we can afford the bills etc. I'd hate to be in that situation.

I don't think the generalisation about spending the money on cigarettes etc was really that inaccurate. Of course it doesn't apply in this situation and there will be lots of people out there who do not know what they can claim & those that use the benefits they get well etc. But from someone who grew up in a very poor council estate and on benefits... my mother (and all of her friends) never had a lack of cigrattes, weed and drink... but often would be without electricity and food. We'd even have many nights where my mum would make us toast for dinner, in the dark, using her lighter. Not everyone is the same but this kind of thing does happen a lot xx

 

[marie73]

Don't watch EE but have read rest of the thread. I work as a community nurse specialist and lots of people have no idea what benefits they are entitled to, which is why there is millions of pounds in unclaimed benefits each year. I know loads of people abuse the system (like the chavs I saw in Sainsburys last week with a baby and a trolley full of crap food but a bottle of vodka and Bacardi - sure that's not what benefits are intended for!) but there's lots of people who are in genuine need who don't know the way around the system.

 

[MrsGlitz]

On the flip side of the single parents on benefits point my mum was a single parent on benefits, and a recovering alcoholic who sometimes slipped up but not once did any of us go without food, gas, electricity or clothes. I'm sure there are man many more like her rather than those who do use the benefits to fund their addictions.

 

[stacie-leigh]

My word, I only told you my opinion from personal experience. Heather infact probably isn't entitled to many benefits, child benefit and tax credits probably as she works two jobs. How can she possibly have no money?

My husband and me recently discovered that his ex gets over £1200 a month in benefits, surely that is enough to live on?

 

[stacie-leigh]

I find it hard to believe. Single parents earn more than me and my husband! But I imagine it does happen to some people, possibly people who smoke and spend a lot of their money on cigarettes.

I find this comment absolutely disgusting. And no i'm not a single parent.

Do you really?

I didn't mean to upset people. I guess my sense of humour isn't appreciated!

 

[leelee]

My word, I only told you my opinion from personal experience. Heather infact probably isn't entitled to many benefits, child benefit and tax credits probably as she works two jobs. How can she possibly have no money?

My husband and me recently discovered that his ex gets over £1200 a month in benefits, surely that is enough to live on?

And we are responding with our personal experience, which is different to yours.