"I'm completely broken": Caller devastated at coronavirus effect on his business
10 July 2020, 14:15
"I'm completely broken": Caller devastated after business collapses
A devastated caller told James O'Brien how the impact of coronavirus has left his business in tatters and had a terrible effect on his mental health.
Dave runs a video production company and had put a lot of money into building it up over the last couple of years.
But with all the events that he would have been filming cancelled, it's left him with no work whatsoever.
And he told James that, being self-employed, he's been left with no help whatsoever from Rishi Sunak.
His voice cracking with emotion, he said: "I'm completely broken. It's all been taken away from me. I've been completely forgotten about, abandoned.
"He's forgotten millions of us. I'm totally devastated and I don't know what to do.
"I had lots of work lined up for this year, but just before lockdown, I got phone call after phone call. On one hour, I saw £50,000 of work drop off. It's devastating. Two years of building my business and now it's all gone.
"I'm not afraid to talk about mental health, but this has ruined me. There have been moments when I've been seconds away from doing something stupid.
"This could have been avoided with just basic income for everyone."
James told him: "I'm going to say something to you now which may not be correct and I want you to forgive me in advance if I speak inappropriately, but when you contemplate what you've described as doing something silly, please think about the hurt and misery that would cause to the people you love most in the world."
After the call, James said: "It's amazing how quickly the government get on to me when they want me to issue a clarification, often for things that in the long run, don't turn out to be wrong.
"They'll have heard that. And you then need to ask yourself how much they care.
"It's Dave today. Just by dumb luck, the fickle finger of fate ended up pointing at him. The point about politics is it could have been you."
If you are affected by Dave's call, please call the Samaritans on 116 123.
