An update on community
conversations about the idea of
getting a “Union of People Living
in Poverty” started!
By Kendall Worth!
Regular readers may remember this blog from May 28th where I talked to people about an organization for people in poverty. I have had several conversations with people about what is needed:
What should a Union of People Living in Poverty look like?
Many people expressed their desire for this union to happen, and all the reasons we need it.
How such a union could be different from previous groups, (some members of one, have requested I not use the old name. )
Some People are asking “Is right now the time to start such a Union?”
But the reality is, more people-living-in-poverty I have been talking to lately, are saying that want to see an organization that will be a voice for the Community, speaking up for them and their situations again.
https://policyalternatives.ca/publications/facts-infographics/2021-report-card-child-and-family-poverty-nova-scotia
There was a recent sitting of Province House where they demonstrated that nothing is to be done to address poverty, inflation and homelessness. People feel that this strengthens the need for a union of people living in poverty. My contacts, following this house sitting, say that we need such an organization – there is so much for them to be advocating for. People living in poverty told me that since during that house sitting when the province had the opportunity to do what they needed to do and did nothing during that sitting -- we are now loosing trust in Tim Houston. That is what I am being told.
Think About this:
During this rare summer sitting, they did nothing to raise the income assistance rates, or address the higher cost of living due to Inflation.
They did nothing to address the growing need for truly affordable housing.
In the meantime our Local HRM Government is behaving like they are wanting People's Park (Meagher Park) cleared ASAP.
But without the existence of a union of people living in poverty, with past groups no longer up and running, (and especially with the unknown of the future of People’s Park) we really need such a group. Here is the last article I had written from People’s Park https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-latest-from-peoples-park.html . More recently several advocates/supporters have been trying to protect People’s Park from getting wrecked by Police and city workers, and protect the Homeless from getting evicted from the park, (Advocates are trying to prevent another August 18th 2021 outbreak from happening) If a union of people living in poverty was up and running, the Union could play a very important part in this advocacy. After all, the homeless are a part of the the population of people living in poverty in HRM. It is unknown where these people will re-located or where they will go if they get evicted from the park.
Others have also suggested that if the Union had been up and running by now, something-else we could start addressing and planning for is students returning to Halifax. Students living in poverty is another part of “poverty” here in Halifax. The union could find ways to start advocating for them as well.
More ideas are coming to light:
More protest and rallies are needed to get organized and to start happening like talked about in this BLOG post here, but without an organization/union to organize, to start planning that protest and rallies that are needed to happen, it is difficult to plan and get these rallies/protest up and running. It is difficult for just an individual to organize these protest/Rallies.
Something-else that comes into play as to what has been making things difficult to get a union of people living in poverty up and running is the fact that this Union would also have include the allies of the people we represent which means second voice people. Second Voice people are not necessarily people who live in poverty themselves but supporters of the Cause. With this being the Summer months they have been taking their vacations from their employment and getting in touch with Second has been a A-bit difficult during Summer Months.
Hopefully we can get this Union in the months to come!
Before posting we found out that today, August 12th, a fence was put up around People’s Park in the early hours of this morning, enclosing tents and shelters within.
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