A struggling couple from Liverpool pleaded with the public to raise money through donations after their Universal Credit Payment was cut down, leaving them to dwell on just $640 a month.
Ryan Rodgers, 26, and Jenny Grimes, 25, say they are relying on food banks and the help they get from friends and family to put bread on the table for their children, all of them under seven years of age.
Taking to a crowdfunding website, Jenny wrote that she and her husband were ashamed to ask for charity but they have no other option to turn to as they can’t even afford food for their family.
“I hate to have to do this and it’s took a lot for me to actually do it, but there is only so much we can do as a family,” said Jenny.
“Any help at all is very much appreciated, even if you could point me in the direction of getting some help. Thank you.”
However, their neighbors have the view that the family is not eligible for getting monetary support at all.
“If anyone does give them money I know where it will be going – cannabis,” Joan Bennett, one of their neighbors told the Mail.
“The smell of pot used to be out there first thing in the morning. In the summer I’d be hanging out my washing and screaming, ‘Will you stop smoking that stuff and get a bloody job?’”
Another unpleased neighbor said: “He [Ryan] was smoking pot all day long – starting at seven in the morning sometimes and carrying on until late at night.
“He was an absolute disgrace. Anyone who has given them money for presents needs to know it is more likely to go on buying gear.
“They’ve had handouts all their life – it’s time they started paying their way like anyone else.”
The couple lives with their seven children; seven-year-old Ellie, six-year-old twins Kenzie and Kelsie, four-year-old Laysie, two-years-old Archie and two twin boys, Tobie and Rylie, who are just seven months of age. The house they live in costs $900 a month in rent.
Rodgers worked as a waiter but he is now washing cars to get money to support his family of nine.
He said that he had mental health troubles including depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependency but has now quit drinking.
Rodgers’ mother-in-law Grattan told Mail Online: “Ryan is a feckless liar who is trying to con the public into giving him money which he will just pour down his throat.
“No one should give him any money as he has a drinking problem and that’s where it will all go. He will spend it all on booze.
“Anyone who has donated to the GoFundMe page should ask for their money back. He is conning the public with a sob story that is not true.”
Rodgers and Jenny, however, deny all the accusations made against them by their neighbors and their own family.
Jenny said: “Our own family is commenting and telling people that Ryan is an alcoholic, he used to have a problem with drink but he’s not drunk for ages.
“People are also suggesting things about drugs which is ridiculous, I’ve not touched a drug in my life and I wouldn’t let anything like that anywhere near my kids. I think drugs are disgusting.
“We are good parents who are on benefits, receiving the most minimal amount of money from the government, we can’t survive on just this.
“We’ve had lots of nasty texts, emails and phone calls, I believe a relative is actually giving out my number for people to text us abuse because we don’t get on.
“People are telling us that they’re reporting us to the CPS and social services.”
Replaced!