Kendall Worth continues his reporting on how people on income assistance are dealing with COVID-19. “She told me that before she got her free bus pass, she used to create imaginary friends to keep herself company. She said it was not healthy for her to be doing that. “
With COVID-19 measures getting a bit more relaxed Kendall Worth checks up on some of his friends to see how they survived the lockdown.
Kendall Worth reflects on a summer without festivities, and reminds us of his excellent idea of a buddy system for people on social assistance and others.
“When will the various places the poor depend on, not only for meals but also for getting out and socializing, reopen?”
Kendall Worth on all the super important things poor people relied on that disappeared when COVID-19 started,
Sheri Lecker, executive director of Adsum for Women and Children, on the obstacles poor people encounter when dealing with isolation in the days of COVID-19. “One answer is simple and affordable: give everyone on income assistance a phone and an internet connection. There need be no ‘medical proof’ for justification. Loneliness and isolation are reason enough.”
Kendall talks with William, a man who is poor and living with anxiety and depression, about both the practical and mental health challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Letter: The state of emergency recently declared in Nova Scotia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic raises many concerns, in particular that Black, Indigenous, and other racialized peoples, people living in poverty, and homeless, the mentally ill, and other vulnerable groups will not be disproportionately targeted.. We must embrace this crisis as an opportunity to develop and implement practices that produce inclusive and equitable public health and safety practices,
Kendall Worth wrote an open letter to Premier Stephen McNeil and ministers Kelly Regan and Randy Delorey, about the many pressures people on income assistance face, and some great suggestions on what to do about it.
Day surgery and the mandatory ride home is a problem for poor people, as are mental health issues. In this letter anti-poverty advocate Kendall Worth offers excellent solutions to Health minister Randy Delorey.
Fairly often poor people in Halifax get stopped by police and private security guards for involuntary behaviour such as fidgeting and staring at people, behaving as if intoxicated, and talking to themselves in public. In a follow up on earlier stories Kendall Worth spoke with people who submitted formal complaints with police, mall management and even the Human Rights commission.