Building the Case!
By Kendall Worth!
I want to start off by talking about why I gave this story the title: “Building the case”’
The case I am talking about, of course, is the case for why my journalism, and publication, needs to continue. The principle reason is because we need a better system of income assistance under the Department of Community Services, in Nova Scotia. Perhaps the best change would be to change the current Employment Support and Income Assistance program. I proposed something new in this I once wrote for the Nova Scotia Advocate: https://nsadvocate.org/2016/08/12/why-i-support-an-annual-guaranteed-income/
Changing the system need to include more money above and beyond the current Standard Household rate of $950.00 a month. Through the duration of my contribution to the former Nova Scotia Advocate, the income assistance rates moved from $810 a month, to $850 in January 2021, and then to $950 on April 1 2021. None of those rates were ever enough for someone to live on.
Also
listen to my
speech on poverty at a basic income forum in Halifax in the fall of 2021.
“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcYq48gnLk0&list=PLDsGZX_ZQxQ0F-3mprWC60uy7tq5rvpmy&index=5”
I propose raising the Income Assistance rates to the $2000 a month CERB offered During COVID. We need basic income in this country, and we have it, osrt of, but the rates are too low to live on!
But I have other reasons for wanting to write and publish. The passing of my Former Editor Robert DeVet came right at a time when the Homeless Situation (meaning the numbers of Homeless people living on the street) was increasing. We do have to think about those who are homeless as well as those income assistance recipients who are successfully, but often precariously, housed.
While writing for the Nova Scotia Advocate I put a lot of weight on reporting on those living in poverty, who are housed. The homeless situation in Halifax has taken a strong foot hold over last year, here in Halifax, and the need for reporting on issues affecting those living in poverty has not stopped and is likely never going to stop. The number of homeless people we have here in Halifax is just adding fuel to the fire of consequences that people living in poverty, in Halifax, suffer.
Here are two previous stories of mine that were published in the Nova Scotia Advoacte where I talked about the current worsening of the homeless, and housing and homeless situation, here in Halifax.
In the first one: “https://nsadvocate.org/2021/08/19/kendall-worth-my-take-on-yesterdays-evictions-by-the-police/. I raise the question “If the Income Assistance rates had been higher than the current $950.00 a month would this protest have even happened?” My Belief is that this protest, and everything that happened, could have been prevented. If people had housing, or income assistance rates were high enough for people to afford housing, this protest and subsequent police violence, and arrests, would never have happened!
In the second article: “https://nsadvocate.org/2021/09/03/kendall-worth-what-i-learned-while-visiting-peoples-park/” I talk about how people who are homeless, do not want to be homeless. They want to get access to Safe and Affordable housing. In addition, those who are homeless want to engage in things like:
Self Care Activities
Access to bathrooms, and Showers
Access to things like Gaining Employment and going back school.
Homeless people want to better themselves, just as much as Housed income assistance recipients.
Another thing I have noticed is that the homeless, staying in Crises shelters, and, at places like People's Park seem to have formed Communities, but income assistance recipients, who are housed, are scared to come forward about their situation, and do not form communities with each other. Here in Halifax several people have noticed over these past few months that unlike Income Assistance recipients, who are housed, the totally homeless are not scared to come forward about their situation and fight for more. Is there less stigma against the homeless than there is for income assistance recipients? Q – I Wonder if the reason for this is because the homeless issues looks more visible? After-all we see the homeless issue by seeing all of these tents and Crises shelters set up that homeless people live in.
This other side to why my Journalism needs to continue these days, is that the stigma that the financially better off community believe in, about people on income assistance is never going to go away, unless people who experience it start speaking up! For more on this stigma that housed, Income Assistance recipients face see:
“https://nsadvocate.org/2016/10/17/kendall-worth-ignorant-ideas-about-welfare-i-hear-a-lot/”
The following is a list of what both of the above articles prove people WRONGLY think:
Welfare encourages people to not work.
Welfare recipients can milk the system indefinitely.
Undocumented immigrants abuse the welfare system.
The welfare system is full of loopholes that get exploited at the taxpayers’ expense.
Most welfare recipients are single mom or single men with mental health issues.
People who depend are just too lazy and do not want to work for a living.
People on welfare are uneducated.
And what people believe, regarding those statements above, is fake news.
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