divorce settlement and re-investing for housing needs

[dilly0000]

I'm recently divorced and awaiting completion of the financial settlement-the sale of the marital home-from which i am entitled to my allocated % of the net profit. Since leaving my husband i have been struggling to provide for our two children even though i was work part-time, and have had to rely on financial support from the benefits agencies, mainly for housing costs. I have been and am still renting privately and in receipt of maternity pay which expires at the end of February, as i fell pregnant and gave birth to my third(unplanned) child at the end of last year.(The father of which is not on the scene and has no financial commitment to our child). The question i pose is...my maternity pay ends this month and it is not financially viable for me to return to work at this time. The financial settlement is due shortly from my divorce and i wish to try and provide permanent housing for myself and my children and re-invest my settlement money wisely., thus keeping the amount of financial housing support to a minimum and when the children are older i will be able to come off benefits completely. Unfortunately, although the settlement may be adequate as a large deposit on a property, i will no longer be in employment . The only advice i have obtained so far is to spend my capital until my savings deplete to such a level that i will be eligible for financial assistance back through the benefits agencies-surely i would be penalized for this and when my savings are all gone the benefits agencies will then have to pay my rent in full which could be over a third more than estimated mortgage costs for the same size property?!! Is there any way for me to purchase adequate housing for myself and my three children with a view to re-investing my capital and providing a benefit free life for us all in the near future??