Kendall went to one of the information sessions on the social assistance changes and wasn’t impressed. “This being the holiday season, recipients consider this not a real Christmas present from Community Services,” he writes.
Kendall Worth: “This is a story about a woman in her late twenties who was on income assistance at one time, but no more. We’ll call her Rachel (not her real name).”
Kendall meets up with a sister of a person who is on social assistance and lives with mental health issues. She worries about her brother and wants to better understand the welfare system.
Kendall Worth meets with Alec Stratford of the NS College of Social Workers.They talk about income assistance, Community Services, and social isolation, among other things.
Remembrance Day is still a day of lonesomeness and social isolation for income assistance recipients, writes Kendall Worth. And worse, it’s also a reminder that Christmas is fast approaching, and the time leading up to Christmas is often not an easy time for people living in poverty.
Three separate tenants are all hit with huge rent increases that go in effect in March. They’re on welfare, they’re friends, and there’s no way they can afford to stay. “this is also a story that illustrates how the life of an income assistance recipient can at any time take a turn for the worse,” writes Kendall.
Kendall Worth on the awfulness of being on welfare and dealing with close family members who attack you for it.
“On Thanksgivings income assistance recipients do try to celebrate being thankful for what they do have to the best of their ability. Yet when you live in poverty you have less to be thankful for.”
Kendall Worth reports.
Kendall Worth: “I just want to say that I have known Christine Saulnier for the past 10 years or more. I, and others who know Christine, would be very proud to have Christine represent Halifax as my MP in Ottawa if elected.”
Kendall Worth meets with MLA Lisa Roberts to talk about high rents, Airbnb, rent control and people losing their homes. Also, there’s a petition you can download.