Christmas should be Declared a Special Holiday!

 According to Some Welfare Recipients, and the Disability Community, Christmas should be Declared a Special Holiday, especially in 2022!

By Kendall Worth!

This story makes the strong case for why Income Assistance recipients, should be entitled to an extra allowance for the Holiday Season.

Many people from my community, (of people living in poverty) inform me, that this year is going to see an increase in poor folks spending Christmas  alone. The reasons are not all related to COVID. Since writing Part1 and PartII about concerns around celebrating Christmas this year, it is even clearer that the reason is primarily about inflation. Some lucky welfare recipients, who usually have family to celebrate with, (most do not) have been informed by their families , that there will be no "normal" Christmas celebration this year because of inflation and affordability.

I have recently written about concerns around Celebrating Christmas 2022. In Part1 I illustrate the following points:

• This year it is going to cost more to celebrate Christmas.

• Not getting any extra money from Income Assistance, for celebrating Christmas, has always been the case – even before COVID.

• The 2 years that we were not able to be with family at Christmas (for those of us who have family that is,) because of COVID, made us aware of being alone and socially isolated.

• Even though COVID restrictions have ended, COVID continues to be around, and we do not want to be around large Crowds. While with family we want no more than 10 people max, and our Christmas Social Circle not to include people with immune and compromised health conditions.

• 4 Income Assistance recipients pointed out that, in the past, pre-COVID, they would travel home to Cape Breton, but once again this year, they cannot, because the cost of taking the shuttle to and from Cape Breton, has doubled.

   

Then in Part 2 I illustrate more about how COVID is not the only reason why people living in poverty are not going to be able to celebrate Christmas this year. I also address the reasons why “Christmas is the not time of year for stigmatizing”.

One welfare recipient recently asked me: “Kendall, you know how at the beginning of every school year, Community Services puts extra money on the cheques of single parents, with school age kids, an allowance to get school supplies for their children? Wouldn’t Christmas be so much easier for welfare recipients if just for the month of December we received the $2500 you talk as an amount that allows one to live in dignity?”

Then this welfare recipient suggested, that, if what I am suggesting was reality, it would make things easier for us for us to get through the month of December in various ways. It would make it easier for us to do things like attend Christmas Parties/gatherings we get invited to, at the holiday season, as well as buying Christmas presents for family and friends. Many parties also have cash bars and even a non-alcoholic beverage is $3-4.

Since I wrote Part I and II, I keep hearing that Christmas 2022 is going to increase the mental health issues that many income assistance recipients deal with. They are saying this while witnessing the homeless population increasing, Inflation on the rise, no recent increases in the Income Assistance rates in Nova Scotia, and federally - Bill C22 looking like it is not going to get passed (meaning pass 3^rd reading, royal assent and proclamation) before the fall session of Parliament breaks for Christmas.

Having financial freedom at the holiday period, would help Welfare recipients.

However, what people can and cannot afford, and the need for more money at Christmas, is only one aspect of why Christmas should be considered “essential” for most, if not all folks living in poverty. Christmas is the time for some, who have family connections, to check in with each other. Then there is the the question what about the homeless? How do they spend Christmas? If government, or a well-off Not-for-profit wanted to be creative they could put the homeless up in hotels so the homeless can have a Merry Christmas. Provide them with a nice meal on Christmas Day and a care package to help them out moving forward. What if the homeless got the $2500 I suggested above, just for the month of December? Then they could afford to go to a hotel on their own.

I have a question that no one has answered… The government gave Income Assistance Recipients an extra $150.00 following Hurricane Fiona, why can they never do the same at Christmas, to help us out with Christmas expenses?

I am also hearing that the Feed Nova Scotia Christmas Support Program is, this year, going to cut what they really needed for Christmas.

Community members lately have been questioning whether the government considers Christmas an essential Holiday or not? They feel that this year, compared to previous years, Christmas needs to be seen as an essential part of people’s lives. Not everyone in need has family or friends who can support them at Christmas. We need to see what non-profits are putting on meals this year and they need to start organizing, promoting and registering people (if required) now. However, even these Christmas meals do not provide what people living in poverty really need at Christmas. None of these Christmas Meals takes place on Christmas day. Welfare Recipients are feeling that if Income Assistance considered Christmas celebrations essential in people’s lives, then there would be some sort of program for those of us who are going to be alone at Christmas, who among other things would do Mental Health wellness checks on us. I have written many times abut the need for a Social prescribing program and that could assist people who will be lonely on Christmas Day.

Welfare recipients ask: Even if we wanted to invite friends over to our places for Christmas, without extra financial help, where does money come from to provide what is needed for us to have company over? Even though this article addresses poverty and New Years, it still relates to one of few ways we celebrate Christmas and says in part:

“Another reason why it is difficult to have people visiting is because the polite thing to do when you have company over is to offer snacks and beverages, and people living in poverty often cannot afford to have snacks to offer their company, given the fact that they can barely afford to feed themselves”

The feed Nova Scotia Christmas box only provides enough in the food box to feed one person.

Let’s work at finding a solution!