Katlin's Story

 When the need to make a new friend is strong!

By Kendall Worth!

This story is about a welfare recipient I interviewed within the past 3 days.

Let’s call her Katlin, not her real name.

You will find that Katlin’s story has a relationship to the need for “Social Prescribing”, a program I have written about extensively, and that I am advocating for, in Nova Scotia. Katlin currently pays pays $875.00 to rent her one bedroom apartment. Heat, hot water and power (lights) included. She is lucky because many landlords out do not include power in what they charge for rent. In Katlin's case, she needs to immediately find a way to make a friend who has both the ability and resources to own, operate and drive a truck. Simply having a friend, or even a friendly acquaintance with a truck, would solve the problem that she has right now.

She may only be in her apartment for another 3 months, because she may be getting evicted, but not because her rent is late. She has been “hoarding” and landlords see hoarding, as a violation of the Fire-Code. That is why it is legal to evict someone for that reason.

Just "for example" Not Katlin's place

We met twice while interviewing her for this story. The second time, she invited me over to her apartment to show me exactly what her landlord was complaining about when he gave her a notice on Tuesday November 29^th 2022, informing her she has 3 months to make arrangements to get the “clutter” out of her apartment. Otherwise, on March 1st 2023 she will be served with an Official Notice of Eviction. When I entered her apartment on Friday December 2^nd, 2022 everything was piled up toward all the walls in her apartment. I did not understand how she could enter or leave her apartment… She answered this question by saying that she pretty much moves everything out of the way as she is moving within her apartment. While I was interviewing her I googled hoarding and found this article on the internet, which briefly explains what hoarding is and the problems associated with it. This article describes exactly what I saw in Katlin’s apartment. The only social contacts she has in her community, as is the case with many, probably most, welfare recipients, are people she knows through standing in line at food banks and attending soup kitchens. Katlin, like most welfare recipients is not friends with the people she sees at those places. 

Just "for example"

I asked Katlin, how did your landlord find out you were hoarding, when the Residential Tenancies Act says they have to give you notice to enter, and cannot just enter when ever they feel like it?

Katlin told me that within the past couple weeks there was a building inspector going around her building . “The building inspector also called my place a fire hazard when he entered. The building inspector reported it to the landlord. When I got home the next day the superintendent was outside my door waiting, and he came inside my apartment and told me I had to get rid of at least half of my clutter ASAP! Just the like the building inspector and the landlord, the super also called it a Violation of the Fire-Code.”

So, that is why, right now, Katlin feels like she is in need of a friend who owns and drives a truck. If you have only the $950.00 a month Standard Household Rate to live on, then $875.00 for rent, leaves $75.00 plus she gets $81.00 for 3 special Diet allowances, and a $40.00 a month telephone allowance. Of course the special Diet and telephone allowances she receives has to go directly to those needs.

Katlin told me that she experienced something I have written about many times before -- friendships she had back when she was working, ended within her first few days of receiving welfare. This story and Part II here, explain why Katlin refers to them and Katlin then told me that she is hoping that if the Social Prescribing organization I am advocating for ever gets started she is hoping she can make a friend who does have a truck. Katlin told me that she is willing to donate some of her stuff to Value Village or Mission Mart if she can simply access a truck to get her stuff there. With $75.00 a month to live on, after rent etc. I am sure you can understand that hiring a truck is something she cannot afford. As a result, she is worried about becoming homeless a few month from now.

She told me that 3 steps she has already taken, immediately after receiving the notice, are as follows:

• She called her MLA and asked about whether it legal for the landlord to evict her for “hoarding”. The MLA office called her back to confirm that yes, it is legal to evict someone for that reason. Her MLA’s office told her that when, on March 1^st she gets the Official Eviction notice they can help her fight the eviction through the Residential Tendency Board. However, the MLA told her they cannot help her out with hooking her up with someone who has a truck.

• She talked to the social worker at the medical clinic where her doctor is located. She had to tell Katlin that if they arrange anything through the clinic, would overstep the professional boundaries of the work of the Doctor and Social Worker, Etc.

• She called her Income Assistance Caseworker to see if, under these circumstances, she can get the cost of hiring a truck covered. Her IA Caseworker informed that they can only cover the cost of a truck if she is moving. The IA Caseworker had to say no because the purpose was to get her donations to Value Village. Katlin's IA caseworker suggested that Katlin get herself affiliated with a Church somewhere on Sunday, and get help from the Church she chooses. Katlin believes that it was unprofessional for an Income Assistance Caseworker to give her that advice.

Katlin agrees with the need for social prescriptions both generally to strengthen social circles and the need for good friendships in life which I wrote about here. In that article, I point out the reason why Katlin and I agreed an IA Caseworker telling her to attend church is unprofessional. That article points out various social activities that people with more money take for granted, and how much easier good friendships can be made, if people had more money to spend on getting out and socializing. Another artcile I wrote, points out ways that having more money for social activities can decrease mental health issues.

Lets hope that everything works out for Katlin!