A look back on last year’s #LivesOnWelfare social media campaign. We talk to Jackie Torrens, who pulled it all together. The story also includes all the photos and messages that were used, as far as I can tell. Just so we have them and know where they are.
The Department of Community Services wants to change how it delivers welfare. But it still isn’t clear what that means, says Kendall Worth, after attending an update session organized by the department. In fact, there is reason to worry.
Frequent contributor Kendall Worth tackles the serious topic of social isolation. He looks at causes for isolation other than poverty, and particularly puts alcoholism under the loop. But poverty can certainly add to the problem, Kendall explains. He ends with a list of suggestions anybody can try, from joining a book club to becoming an activist.
Nova Scotia gets a failing grade in this year’s Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia. The annual report tracks child poverty relative to previous years and other provinces, and this year there isn’t even a glimmer of good news.
A year ago contributor Tim Blades sent a letter to the Minister of Community Services with some pointers on what needs fixing in her department from the perspective of somebody on social assistance. It’s as relevant today as it was a year ago.
A private member’s Bill in Ontario wants welfare rates to be set by an independent entity, based only on the cost of living. Nova Scotia would benefit from a similar approach.
Reporter Tim Blades wonders how come single parents on welfare see their child support clawed back in Nova Scotia, yet British Columbia has done away with the practice, and Ontario is soon to follow. And then there are some other policies that make the lives of single parents on welfare and their children particularly difficult, and sometimes even dangerous, Tim reports.
For this installment of Lives on Welfare we publish a letter by a middle-aged man who is on social assistance and lives with Crohn’s disease. He relates two experiences with Community Services while he was pursuing an education. His first story is about a tutor he didn’t need, the second one is about the computer he did need.
A new report tells us that in Nova Scotia an awful lot of people are awfully poor. More so than in Canada overall, and more so than most any other province. Cape Breton, Kentville, New Glasgow, and Halifax all are in the top twenty for their respective categories.
Kendall Worth on the important work that the Benefit Reform Action Group does for people on income assistance in Nova Scotia. Organize, don’t agonize!