Looking ahead into the New Year!
By Kendall Worth!
A lot has happened when you look back on 2021, and these days, we are about to enter 2022 living with a lot of uncertainty.
Halifax’s Homeless population numbers have increased
COVID seems like it is never going to go away
People have no choice but to change plans about where to spend Christmas and then changing again, in order to maintain their own COVID comfort zone.
The New PC Government in Nova Scotia, is moving as slow as Cold as Molasses improve the mental health system, the regular health system and resolve Homeless issues.
And the list goes on...
Something I would like to see happen in 2022 is the creation or activation of an organization that can find solutions for folks on social assistance - the very people I advocate for - ideally, getting the Benefits Reform Action Group (BRAG) (– note demands in this article have not been updated since 2015! ) started back up again. BRAG advocated for people on social assistance, by making suggestions, recommendations and demands to MLA’S, Government and other staff of Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) program . There have also been times throughout the existence of BRAG that members have talked on radio shows, and organized protests and rallies.
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BRAG Brochure
For more on BRAG see “https://nsadvocate.org/2018/07/12/why-talk-when-nobody-listens-benefit-reform-action-group-halts-discussions-with-community-services/” .
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However there is a question that comes with the thought of getting BRAG back up and running...That question is:
What is the best way to activate, or create, an organization that will fight for improvements in social assistance, and other programs that the people I advocate for, use? Is getting BRAG back up and running and finding ways to make BRAG better, really the answer/solution for creating an organization to help “the Community of people I advocate for”, solve their problems?
Even though I cannot answer this question at the present; what I can talk about is the background that raises this question. When we went to into COVID Lock-Down back in March of 2020, the cancelling of BRAG meetings came with these gathering restrictions. Unlike other volunteer organizations who, changed their regular group meetings from in-person to online – things like Zoom, Skype, over speaker phone etc -- BRAG decided to bring its work to a halt. This decision was made because the BRAG membership does not have the same resources to do meetings online. Also, personally, I found myself attending different organization’s meetings by sitting within the 4 walls of my apartment to attend meetings. I do not have the patience for online meetings of over an hour. Those online meetings, during COVID, are the reason that I made the decision to totally step down from much of my volunteer work. Those other organizations elected to maintain and continue their work over ZOOM, which, although less desirable, did work for them.
Two other volunteer organizations including the Community Society to End Poverty working group I sit on, the Basic Income Group, and The Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunity agreed to keep the duration of their meetings over Zoom, to 1 hour to an hour and half max. That, I agreed, I could handle.
Other org’s meetings however, could not be less than 2 hours and some up to 4, and I could not handle being on Zoom for that long. That is why I had made the decision to step down from those parts of my volunteering during COVID.
BRAG, as I said, could not continue during COVID – our members did not have access to the required resources. BRAG does not have the resources, as an organization, to help members with computers or internet access.
However, Something IS clear. If there is a possibility of getting BRAG back up and running it is going to have to be with all new membership. I have been a long time member but may be the only one available to attend future meetings. BRAG’s role was advocating for Income Assistance Rates to increase, but also to advocate for dramatic changes to the Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) program through Department of Community Services.
Why do we need an organization like this?
First – Back in the days when BRAG did have good meetings that were well attended, people found that it was not only an opportunity for them to advocate to make their situations better, but BRAG meetings were a supportive environment for people to talk about their situation – why they were on social assistance, and their past life situation that resulted in not being able to work for income. However, when you think about the question mentioned a few Paragraphs above the question remains about whether or not getting BRAG back up and running really is the answer, even if it is possible.
Second – There are other organizations working on poverty these days. . . although none with the focus of BRAG with an emphasis on consumers of social services. But maybe one is functioning well during COVID restrictions? I have, for instance, interviewed someone from ACORN. Janice, who I interviewed, agreed with me on the factor “We definitely want to combat everything that goes along with being low-income in this province”. But at the moment they are primarily focused on the housing crisis. So no group is organizing people on social assistance to reform or refocus social assistance and RAISE THE RATES!
During the last provincial budget I heard even some rich people say the income assistance rates are too low. So what is the answer? What organization do we need now?
If you think I should know about the work of your group/org/society, or want to talk about reactivating BRAG, or organizing another group focused on social assistance. . . please leave your info in the comments below. . . or email me at advocate2X@gmail.com
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