Three of us in similar financial situations started helping each other figure out the benefits system, but I'm realizing we all have different strategies for dealing with caseworkers and the bureaucracy — one of us is always deferential, one gets combative, and I try to outsmart the system. I think our different approaches are actually undermining each other but I don't know how to bring this up.
More people experience this than they realize.
A mutual aid relationship is being complicated by unexamined differences in how each person relates to authority and systematic barriers.
“Where Are You with Low Income & Government Benefits Navigation?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.