Poverty Archives - Page 72 of 76 - Nova Scotia Advocate

Lives on welfare. It’s more than broken, it’s like Humpty Dumpty

September 14, 2016 4 Comments

Our series “Lives on welfare” continues. Meet Bernice. She cut her power bill, only to see Community Services deduct the savings from her monthly cheque. “What do you do? I am just exhausted, from arguing. I am taking my frustration out on my worker, but she has no control, so she takes the crappy end of it. But if you are so frustrated she is the one you vent too, and I keep apologizing to her, I am sorry, I know it’s not your fault.”

Teaching about poverty in schools and universities

September 12, 2016

Poverty activist Kendall Worth directs his attention at our educational system. Why we should teach about local poverty at all levels of education, and what that might look like. Kendall has a couple of great ideas!

Weekend video. Four feet up

September 10, 2016 3 Comments

Watch this wonderful documentary by Nova Scotia’s Nance Ackerman, about the exceptional eight-year old Isaiah and his equally remarkable family as they live in poverty in the Annapolis Valley.

Lives on welfare. From social assistance recipient to social worker

September 8, 2016 2 Comments

The story of Suzanne (not her real name), a university student who needed help after she got pregnant, and a caseworker who went out of his way to stop her from getting what she was entitled to.

Lives on welfare: The day I got yelled at by Community Services staff

August 30, 2016 5 Comments

Our series ‘Lives on Welfare’ continues. Here Joe, one the most gentle and soft spoken people I know, talks about becoming the target of a verbal attack by a Community Services employee. Being treated disrespectfully by Community Services staff and feeling powerless as a result is another common theme in the stories people on welfare tell.

Rent strike: 30-day countdown starts while Liberal MLA offers support

August 29, 2016

Tenants of social housing in Spryfield and elsewhere are tired of waiting for repairs, and are resuming their countdown to a full blown rent strike. Liberal MLA Brendan Maguire is offering his full support to the group that issued the strike call.

Lives on welfare: How many steps can you walk?

August 24, 2016

Two glimpses into the life of a person who receives social assistance in Nova Scotia.

All that’s wrong with the much-feared Annual Review, and how to begin to fix it

August 22, 2016

Poverty advocate and social assistance recipient Kendall Worth just went through his Annual Review. Here Kendall suggests some of the changes that would make it a much better process, based on trust rather than suspicion, clients’ needs rather than saving money.

News brief: The poor persons guide to the municipal elections

August 19, 2016

Some questions ACORN Nova Scotia suggests you should ask as you chat with municipal candidates this Fall.

Why I support a guaranteed basic income

August 12, 2016 1 Comment

Kendall Worth, who struggles to make ends meet on social assistance, comes out in favour of an annual guaranteed basic income. Not surprising, if you see your benefits shrink, your special needs ignored and you have to face a patronizing bureaucracy on a daily basis.