Thursday, 28 November 2024

Community Services

Media release: Government not committed to working with concerned citizens on collaborative welfare reform

Earlier today we posted a letter to premier Stephen McNeil written by a new coalition of poverty organizations and advocates who want a substantial increase in income assistance rates and real input in the Employment Support and Income Assistance transformation that is mostly happening in secret and without real community input. That letter was a bit long, this press release is the Coles notes version.

Open letter to Premier Stephen McNeil requesting a response to the Community Agenda for Social Assistance Adequacy and Reform

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Last December a coalition of more than 25 anti-poverty organizations and advocates released A Call to Action: Community Agenda for Social Assistance Adequacy and Reform. Not satisfied with the response by a civil servant, the coalition once again makes its case, asking for a a substantial increase in Income Assistance rates, meaningful consultation, and a meeting with the premier. Meanwhile, there are way more signatories now.

Media release: Concerned social workers campaign to see change to NS Department of Community Services

News release: Concerned social workers in Nova Scotia have launched a social media campaign to engage Nova Scotians and bring awareness to the significant stressors that the province’s child protective system is facing. “The current system is being stretched so thin and children are falling through the cracks. Child protection social workers continue to see high caseloads that are increasingly complex. This challenges the quality of case management and increases the risk to vulnerable children and families.”

Public housing tenants left without heat for 36 hours, blame contractor

It took contractors working for the Metropolitan Regional Housing Authority 36 hours to restore heat in a 6-unit building in the Greystone Drive area in Spryfield. The Housing Authority blames the high winds of the January “weather bomb” for causing the furnace problems. Problem with that response is that it wasn’t windy when the furnace died.

Social worker burnout: I have kept quiet long enough

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Former child protection social worker Trish McCourt about high caseloads, lack of training in what can be a dangerous job, burnout, stress and other perils of the job. “Yes, child protection is challenging work. Yes, it can be dangerous, and yes, it often feels thankless. But the real hardships come from the lack of empathy, support and value that is communicated by the employer – the department of Community Services, province of Nova Scotia.”

It’s 2018

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Poverty activist and Income Assistance recipient Tim Blades on poverty in Nova Scotia. “I speak from experience that when you speak up, you can open eyes to what is going on and embolden others to speak up as well.  To have such poverty in Nova Scotia is unconscionable. It’s time for a change. It’s 2018.”

Deportation imminent for Somali refugee who grew up in Nova Scotia

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Ralph Goodale, the federal minister of Public Safety, continues his efforts to deport Abdoulkader Abdi to either Saudi Arabia or Somalia, his lawyer reported yesterday. He has no family connections in either country, does not speak the language, and does not know the local culture. Deportation would separate Abdoul from his entire family who are all in Canada, including his Canadian-born daughter. None of this would have happened if Nova Scotia’s Department of Community Services had applied for Canadian citizenship on his behalf while Abdoul was a ward of the state.