Hello again, Lord Jeromiah. It sound as though the Zumba class was not a good choice, being a bit of a niche organization for minority interests. But we all need to try things, and not everything we try will work out. Look for a club where you would have a common interest with the members. You have expressed an interest in art, so this is one to seek. Citizens’ Advice may be able to help you with such organizations in your area. With your isolated upbringing, you have lost out in developing social skills so you need to work on this. Have you bought the book that others are recommending?
Churches and associated coffee mornings would be a better step forward if you find that you have something in common with these people. Don’t worry about the age gap. These people are usually very welcoming to younger people; the don’t have as many younger members as they would like.
So what do you mean by “progress”? Have you been along to the council, social services or a housing association and discussed the possibilities. My experience is that social services allocate available housing according to priorities. High priorities include people with children, single parents, ex prisoners, evicted ex-tenants and other people genuinely homeless. They will see you as a single, childless person already with a roof over your head. If they add you to the list at all, you will wait till kingdom come to be allocated a home. This is not what you want to hear but you must be realistic. Enquire by all means but don’t expect an instant solution.
I said in my previous post that you should not speculate future finances on what you expect to receive in a will. Ignore these threats from your mum. In any case, in view of what I have said above, you are not likely to be moving out any time soon. What you need to do now is seek a job and start to earn income instead of relying on benefits.
You cannot expect a high-flying job just yet but everyone has to start at the bottom. If you do your job well you have a good chance of promotion.
For example, stacking supermarket shelves is a job that, like all others, needs to be done properly - you need to pay attention to having labels facing forwards and arrange things in order of best-by date and remove date-expired items. You could use your artistic talent to think up eye-catching displays of promotions, and be one above the crowd. A supermarket would gladly offer you training so you could progress to higher-paid jobs within. One thing certain - you will never be able to afford holidays or luxuries if you rely on benefits all your life.
LJ - I can see some positive thinking in your closing paragraphs. I must make some adjustments, however. Your art must be your “side job”. You would need to market yourself and any income would be small and irregular at first. You need to have a payroll job with an employer, and full-time, not part-time. Certainly accept benefits that you are entitled to at present, but work towards a career, where you will not need benefits. You will gain much more control over your life.