Our Nova Scotia Government has spent over $10 million on the implementation of the welfare transformation since 2014, but the results are pretty depressing for most people on assistance. “I have one word for our government and that is criminal,” writes Jodi Brown.
Roving reporter and anti-poverty advocate Jodi Brown meets up with Crystal, a public housing tenant in Halifax who has a sad and way too common story to tell about public housing waiting lists.
In this video citizen-reporter and poverty activist Jodi Brown meets up with Sarah, a young woman who was in a bad spot when she asked Community Services for help. After stays in a shelter and hotel, Sarah now lives in a North Dartmouth apartment building, and deals with leaking roofs and all kinds of other building troubles. Landlord Metcap Living is in no apparent hurry to fix it.
Last week citizen-reporter and poverty activist Jodi Brown reported on the predicament of Samantha Monaghan, mother of six-year old son Luc, who has a terminal illness. Today things got really bad.
Video reporter Jodi Brown visits the mother of a terminally ill six-year old son, who was kicked of social assistance and told to repay over $30,000 in payments Community Services claims she should not have received. The mother is denying the allegations and fighting her case in court. Meanwhile the family can’t make ends meet and is facing eviction.
A monthly budget of $56 per month for a mother and her kids on social assistance, how can that be? Jodi Brown does the math.
It is terribly important that we support the few people in Nova Scotia who are on welfare and/or live in public housing who speak out publicly about the conditions they face, not only for what they have to tell us, but also for the simple act of saying it. They are examples and inspirations, what they do is crucial. Jodi Brown is one of these people, and this Weekend’s Video is about her unexpected encounter with both welfare and public housing. One day you have a job, then you get sick, next thing you have $56 grocery money for an entire month.