Day: March 24, 2015

On April 25th, The Overnight is a walk sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  That is the date for Dallas.  Other walks are planned for other major metropolitan cities. This is a sixteen mile hike.  We will walk from dusk to dawn.  The goal is to raise awareness and funds to prevent suicide.

Yes, I am walking.  The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a four star charity.  Therefore, almost all of the money goes directly to the problem.  If you so desire, I am asking those in my network for financial support.  I am also inviting people to read my blogs on bblonigan@wordpress.com.  That blog has been set up as a step to introduce the book “There Are No Silver Bullets.”  I am saying to the readers that proceeds from this book will go to the same place.

Suicide has been a problem.  Being someone that is…

A letter a day to number 10. No 1,013

Friday 27 February 2015.

Dear Mr Cameron,

Dr David Webster, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, in written evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee on Benefit sanctions wrote the following: “A combination of ‘silo’ thinking by officials in the DWP and its predecessors, and ideological gestures by politicians, has led to the growth of what is a huge secret penal system, rivalling in its severity the mainstream judicial system but without the latter’s safeguards.  Claimants are treated worse than offenders.”

Writing in the ‘Centre for Crime and Justice Studies’ Webster states: “Sanctioned benefit claimants are treated much worse than those fined in the courts. The scale of penalties is more severe (£286.80 – £11,185.20 compared to £200 – £10,000). Most sanctions are applied to poor people and involve total loss of benefit income. Although there is a…