“How many more children are going to be left behind before we will make it our collective priority to end child poverty,” JoAnna LaTulippe-Rochon asks in a presentation on child poverty in Cape Breton. She speaks of parents living in rat-infested homes, skipping meals in order to feed their children.
For an out of town mother on income assistance taking a child to the IWK for tests or surgery, especially if it requires an overnight stay, is a logistical and financial nightmare. Meal allowances haven’t changed since 2008, and even then they were terribly inadequate.
Kendall Worth writes about the challenges for people on income assistance with part time jobs. They were told to get off assistance and on to CERB, and ever since it’s been a rocky road.
Kendall Worth: it is safe to say that 80% of income assistance recipients live a life of loneliness and social isolation. Many do not have good relationships with their families, and many of them do not even talk to their families. COVID-19 made this so much more worse, but we can do something about it.
In Nova Scotia people who were on social assistance while working part time were told by Community Services to apply for CERB. Now that CERB is ending they are worried and have many questions. Kendall Worth speaks out.
Kendall Worth speaks with NS NDP leader Gary Burrill and others about CERB. Early on in the COVID lockdown people on income assistance who held part time jobs were told by Community Services to apply for CERB. For the time being they receive more money, but there have been lots of headaches.
Kendall Worth: “I have heard from several people on CERB who received an email on Thursday July 30 that has them very concerned, because it says people will lose CERB money they were counting on.”
Last month Community Services told Income Assistance recipients who qualify that they must apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). We are hearing that this decision has raised many questions and quite a bit of anxiety.
Kendall Worth turns to the federal government to argue that people on income assistance or CPP Disability need urgent help to deal with COVID-19.
People who are receiving income assistance (IA) benefits and meet the program conditions can apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and will receive the full $2000 monthly payment. Reporting by Robert Devet and Kendall Worth,