By Kendall Worth!
I am writing this in May of 2023, and lately there have been, in the news, stories about large lottery wins-- one recent jackpot was 31 Million and another 64 million. Lately, I got to thinking, wouldn't it be so nice if someone, living in poverty, or with a big heart for those living in poverty, won big?
I want to take a moment to go back to my very first blog post which speaks about mental health and quality of life and the benefits of ending poverty. Later, in this post, Then in this post I expand on those points and also talk about how basic income is a solution. Fore more on my take on basic income see this one and this one. Nothing has improved. These days inflation continues out of control, and housing just gets more and more expensive. The homeless population is increasing at an out of control speed.
With enough money -- Lots of problems would be solved.
If I won the 64 million dollar jackpot I would donate at least half – 32 million - to local organizations that are helping the poor; either that or help some people living in poverty to pay their rental and power arrears, and provide some extra for groceries. With the spiralling cost of living, growing inflation, and increasing homeless population, My very own niece and nephews could becomes homeless, in the next few years, if things keep heading the way they are. I would want to put another 6 Million aside for helping them out. 1 Million for making sure they do not become homeless after they are old enough to not continue living at home with their parents, and 1 million each for helping them (assuming they want to go) with College or University tuition, on campus accommodation and meal plan etc.
My point is, if we want to get rid of welfare and mental health stigma; one way or another the government has got to pay, or money has got to come from somewhere, for people to have more money, enough money to live on. It is all about quality of life improvement hat would go along way in the community of people I advocate for.
The Big question is what is to happen on the mean time while we wait for the provincial government to raise income assistance rates, or the federal government to implement C-22, or a basic, livable income for everyone.
By the way if you want to see First voice people talk about how their lives really are going down hill, I suggest checking out this Facebook page. The page is called “Helping the homeless in Nova Scotia”. I started following this group within the past month or two and there are a lot of first voice people on this page telling their stories and reaching out for help. This page would not be needed if the homeless population wasn't increasing.
If millions of lottery dollars could fall into the hands, of someone with a big enough heart they could buy an apartment building and keep rents low enough that people living in poverty can afford therm. They would also be able to eat healthier and look after their health more. With access to this type of money all sorts of projects could be funded, including the mitigating social isolation project we are working on. It could be on it’s way meaning up and running soon. (In fact, we hope it will be!)
We need to create solutions!
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