Kendall Worth: We really need a 24/7 drop in centre to tackle problems of social isolation
Social isolation leads people living in poverty to go to the QEII Emergency Department just to experience a bit of human warmth. Kendall Worth investigates.
Poverty
Op ed: Meet the new minister, same as the old minister
Why people on income assistance who were punished for something they didn’t do should get their money back, and why it won’t happen. Austerity and secrecy continue to set the agenda at Community Services.
Repay people on income assistance what they’re owed, broad coalition demands after NS Court of Appeal decision
A recent decision by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal found that the department of Community Services was wrong to cut off welfare benefits from innocent family members for something the so called head of the family did wrong. Now a coalition of 20 community groups from across Nova Scotia is asking that Community Services review all its current practices for similar signs of discrimination. It also demands that all people unjustly deprived of benefits in the past get their money back.
News brief: Rent poor in Nova Scotia
Lot of rent-poor people in Nova Scotia. 24,000 Nova Scotians, or one in five people who rent, spend more than 50 percent of their annual income on rent. New data released by Statistics Canada tells the story. Also, a neat app that lets you put it all on the map.
Nova Scotia Court of Appeal rules Community Services wrong to suspend welfare benefits of innocent family members
An important decision by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal says Community Services is wrong to deprive entire families of welfare benefits just because the so called ‘head of the family’ did something wrong. All credit to Rosemary Sparks, who felt an injustice was done to her family and decided to fight back, and to the lawyers who fought the case all the way to the highest court in Nova Scotia.
Women’s rally: some photos and an El Jones poem on women’s lives in poverty
As a bit of a follow-up on last winter’s very successful Women’s March on Washington here in Halifax about three hundred women and allies gathered at Province House today at noon to remind the world they’re still here. We hope to do a bit more on today’s rally, but for now, here are a couple of photos, and El Jones’ contribution, on Nova Scotia’s women who live in poverty, published with her kind permission.
News brief – Squeezing welfare recipients for thirty years and counting
Adjusted for inflation Nova Scotians on welfare have seen no improvements over the last 30 years, and in real dollars many are much worse off than they were in the nineties. That’s one of the conclusions in a new report issued today.
Lives on welfare: New to poverty
New contributor Fara Spence profiles Ruby, an older woman living with severe arthritis and unable to work she had to turn to Community Services after her husband left her. ““Looking back, I was naive. I always thought Community Services would be…I don’t know, happy to help.”
Op-ed: Social assistance can be fixed
Lately several people have told me that welfare in Nova Scotia is beyond repair. Here I want to challenge that notion, because it is both nonsense and a bit dangerous.
Kendall Worth: A very sad story
Kendall Worth with a short and sad story about a woman living with developmental disabilities and mental health issues who lost her job and is dreading the day she will have to apply for social assistance.