Media release: “When a child is hungry; when they aren’t sure where home will be at the end of the day; when they don’t have adequate clothing; it’s very hard for them to focus on learning,” says Wozney. “The evidence is clear that on average, children living in poverty experience worse academic outcomes and are twice as likely to drop out of school. They also have a much higher chance of developing a mental health issue.”
Kendall Worth chats with a woman who gets an unexpected break, allowing her to get off welfare. But not before being abandoned by her former friends because of the stigma of poverty and social assistance…
PSA: In June 2017, all Federal parties supported a bill in Parliament to increase Canadian military spending by 70%. Redirecting $100 billion from military spending over 20 years is a good comparison of the additional funding that is required to address the housing crisis being experienced by thousands of people on low incomes.
New contributor Olivia Katz on how to live through a natural disaster (or any emergency, really) when you are poor or live with disabilities or chronic illness. News you can use!
Kendall Worth with more on the ongoing harassment of poor people and people with disabilities by police ans security guards.
“As an African Nova Scotian, there are many, many things I know little or nothing about, but I do know a little something about poverty and its many effects,” writes Raymond Sheppard.
More in our interview series on the state of journalism in Nova Scotia. I talk with APTN’s Angel Moore about doing journalism for a mostly Indigenous audience. “It’s not my job to change preconceptions. It’s my job to tell stories about the community for the community. However, when I’m writing a story, the potential negative comments and the racist comments on social media are always on my mind. I’m very aware and I’m very careful of that.”
Here is yet another story by Kendall Worth about housing and poverty. Rose has learning disabilities and may have to move out of the place she loves as it is becoming more difficult for her ageing parents to support her.
Kendall Worth with a follow up on an earlier story about a family pushed out of their home and the neighborhood they love because of a huge rent increase.
Tundè Balogun started The Objective after seeing how the mainstream media portrays and stereotypes Black people and their communities, first while living in Toronto, and now in Halifax. We talked with Tundè about doing journalism differently.
This interview is the second in a series. There will be more interviews on journalism in Nova Scotia all through the summer.