Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of stories we think you might have missed.
(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Tracy was just a teenager when she gave birth to her little girl, Stacey.
Just months into her life Stacey was admitted to hospital with croup. During treatment she suffered a devastating cardiac arrest and brain damage. Tracy would spend the next 33 years caring for her daughter’s every need.
When Stacey died Tracy’s carer’s allowance was stopped and she says she has been told by the DWP to ‘sign on and get a job’.
Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of the stories we think you might have missed.
In recent weeks Helena Vesty has been covering a number of stories about the Department for Work and Pensions and their handling of vulnerable people’s benefits.
A couple of weeks ago we covered the tragic stories of two women who took their own lives – in part contributed to through stress related to battling the sometimes unfathomable benefits system.
This week we reported Stacy’s story of how she has been left high and dry after years looking after her severely disabled daughter. “It’s a slap in the face,” the 54-year-old told the Manchester Evening News.
“I’m grieving for my child, but the DWP said there’s ‘nothing they can do, you just have to sign straight on and start looking for a job’.
“I’ve been a full-time carer for more than 33 years with my daughter, I haven’t got any work history and it’s made me feel like I’m going a bit crazy. It’s a heart-breaking and thought-provoking story well worth your time.
Other highlights this week were Ethan Davies’ brilliant story about the ordinary south Manchester house where teenage girls finally celebrate their birthdays, John Shammas’ first person account of him exploring non-league football and Beth Abbit’s wonderful read on life in Greater Manchester’s most deprived neighbourhood.
That latter piece is a bit special, highlighting a community misrepresented by national journalists who neither understand the area or respect the inhabitants.
Despite the challenges Coldhurst faces, Beth found a community that is proud, defiant and finding a compassionate way forward.
Now that is a story worth telling.
‘I’m grieving for my child, but the DWP have just told me to sign on and get a job’
Tracy Hailwood at the home she is about to lose in Heald Green(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Tracy Hailwood is reckoning with the death of her child, nursing a broken body from decades of caring, and trying to enter a workforce that doesn’t want her – the DWP is telling her to ‘just get a job’.
Life in Greater Manchester’s most deprived neighbourhood
“What?!” Coldhurst kids react to a card trick during a community day(Image: Jake Lindley / Manchester Evening News)
Coldhurst is often cited as a regional and national hotspot for some unflattering statistics – most recently regarding child poverty. But peel back the layers and you’ll find a community working to replace lost public services so desperately needed.
The ordinary south Manchester house where teenage girls finally celebrate their birthdays
Contact Hostel, on Wilbraham Road in Whalley Range(Image: Contact Hostel)
It does vital work – but it needs Manchester’s help. Read the full story HERE.
Angry stewards, 40p Freddos and Kylie Minogue: I took a break from Manchester United and discovered a whole new world
Embark with me on an odyssey away from Old Trafford
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t in love with Manchester United. But it’s hard to like them at the moment. Read it HERE.
‘It’s really creepy and so scary’: How vile ticket scammers are hijacking Facebook accounts to dupe Oasis fans
Chrissy says she ‘felt hideous’ when she learned that someone had hacked her previously deactivated account to scam Charlie.
MEN INVESTIGATION: Victims were inundated with calls from friends and acquaintances when ‘very convincing’ posts in their names appeared on their Facebook walls offering Oasis tickets. Beth Abbit reports. Read it HERE.
This Greater Manchester town is undergoing a huge facelift, but will it change the price of a pint?
Construction site on Market Square, in the heart of Ashton town centre (Image: LDRS)
The town centre is set to undergo a massive transformation over the course of the next decade. Read it HERE.
Does Manchester use the bee too much?
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham shows off his Manchester worker bee tattoo on the fifth anniversary of the bombing, competing the Great Manchester Run for charity(Image: PA )
A symbol of the city for 150 years, Manchester rallied around the bee in the wake of the 2017 Arena attack – but new research suggests bombing survivors are ‘uncomfortable’ with how widespread the bee is. Ethan Davies reports. Read it HERE.