Lets Call him Dan!

 

Lets Call him Dan, not his Real Name!

By Kendall Worth!

Yesterday, I was supposed to interview Dan, and when he showed up at our arranged meeting spot, he was accompanied by a close friend of his. That friend suggested I call her Sarah in this BLOG Post. Sarah is not an income Assistance recipient herself. She helps Dan out, because even though she is financially better off in life, she is also a non-stigma believer and she understands Dan’s disabilities that keep him on welfare. Sarah and Dan know each other because they used to be co-workers at Dan’s past Job.

Sarah said that for the past couple of years, she accompanies him on Income Assistance cheque day, to do his errands, drives him to Souls Harbour 3 to 5 times per week, and drives him to other appointments. Just to be clear – Sarah and Dan are just friends. They are not in a relationship and they do not live together. It was a long time friend of Sarah’s who suggested that Dan should talk to me about his story.

Dan’s Situation:

Dan lives in a one bedroom apartment where he is currently paying $800.00 a month for rent and that includes Heat and hot water. He pays $60.00 a month for power on budget billing and $47.99 a month for his cell phone. So fixed Living Expenses in his case = $907.99 a month.

Dan Receives the Standard House Hold Rate of $950.00 plus $81.00 for Special Diet Allowance and $40.00 for the telephone allowance. = $1071.00 a months is his allowance from Income Assistance.

Then $860.00 for Rent and Power leaves = 211.00 a month.

Then of course the $40.00 goes directly toward his phone = $171.00 a month.

Out that $171.00 the remaining $7.99 for his phone bill comes out of that = $163.01 a month.

Then he tells me it is a struggle stretching that remaining $163.01 every month, especially considering he needs some special diet items and the increase in inflation.

More than money...

But there is more to Dan’s situation on welfare then just the financial impacts. What made Dan want to come to me about his story, is that he saw my blog and saw stories about some welfare recipients getting accused of “performing Inappropriate Body Language in Public” or being accused of not “taking their medication” Dan told me, he experiences those exact issues. I have previously written a description of the body language.

After Dan saw those articles, he said to me Kendall, I have had issues where I have been approached by police and private security about “inappropriate body language” and it even got me into trouble with my employer at my last job, I wonder if that is maybe god telling me I do need to be on medication I am not taking? He got into trouble because his employer got complaints about his body language making costumers feel uncomfortable, while at he was at work. He mentioned that he did not ever think, then, that he would ever need to be on social assistance!

Sarah was telling me that the last time he got approached by police, Dan was actually walking through the Halifax Commons on his way to Souls Harbour. He was approached by two Police Officers. Dan was told by the officers that they got complainants that he walks though the Commons everyday fidgeting, staring at people and “with an evil look in his eye”. He behaved, they said, like he is publicly intoxicated even though he has not been drinking any alcohol. When he told police that he goes to Souls Harbour because he needs to eat because he does not get enough $ to live on, the officers did not care and took him by force to the hospital. Dan told me similar things have happened while doing errands on cheque day. Sarah told me that is the reason why she started driving him -- to protect him from having police and security approach/harass him.

During this conversation Dan and I talked about the fact that there does not seem to be a legal process you can use when Police or private security approach you, while all you are doing is sitting, minding your own business, and not causing trouble. Dan actually wanted to go to the Main Stream Media (MSM) at one point to talk about his story. He has told the police that he wants whoever is putting in these reports to the police that he makes them uncomfortable, to be charged with harassment. He has asked them over and over. Then several times he told police/private security to tell whoever is complaining to mind their own business. The response he gets is “Those people are within their right to be making these complaints especially when you behaviour is making them feel uncomfortable.” 

The reason why Dan decided against going to the MSM about this issue is because he would have had to use his real name and declared himself a welfare recipient. This would have only made friends stigmatize him further. If he was public about being a welfare recipient he is certain friendships would end.

Dan was telling me that he sometimes get asked by people if he has ever talked to his doctor about people complaining about him performing Inappropriate Body Language especially given that it has has affected his past employment? Dan told me that he answered that question by telling these people that he does not understand any point in doing so. “Talking to my Doctor about this is not going to stop this from happening I suspect” Dan says.

Anyway Dan’s Story represents yet another example of why addressing Police and private Security makes the solution something between a Rock and hard-stone.