Kendall Worth: Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to interview Mariana. She did not want me to use her real name because she fears that she will be applying for welfare within the next couple of years.

When income assistance recipients ask how soon they can expect to receive the COVID vaccine, the answer they get is, “Oh, maybe by July, August, or September. Income assistance recipients are saying that they have been isolated from their social contacts long enough, but if we have to prepare for these extra few months then we got no choice.

Kendall Worth: In normal years New Year’s is a time of loneliness and social isolation for many of us in the community of people living in poverty. This year we will not be the only ones.