By Kendall Worth!
Coalition Building cycle... from:https://sourcesofinsight.com/coalition-building-cycle/
Re: Reaching out to those known to the community of people living in poverty, who have expertise in organizing events!
Dear Advocates and Organizations, Etc.
cc:
El Jones
Mandy Raining Bird
Pierre Stevens
Tony Tracey
Suzanne MacNeil
Christine Saulnier
Halifax Dartmouth & District Labour Council
Members of the EDA for MLA Gary Burrill in Halifax/Chebucto
Jeff Krabinow, Dal Social Work
Danny Cavanagh, Federation of Labour
And to others who can help;
The background and the Ask:
From the community of people I advocate for through my blog, two first voice I personally know, are looking for opportunity to speak -- about poverty, in this city, Halifax, I am mean more events, for example as myself and other first voice spoke at the recent Basic Income Conference in April 2023. The Next Basic Income Conference will not be taking place in Halifax until October 2024. But things are urgent and we need to sound the alarm.
We are facing many crises right now – income, inflation, housing, climate, and an unjust justice system. .. just to name a few. At the bottom of an income pile where wages are too low, and even jobs that once supported a middle class (think Educational assistants, support workers and library techs) no longer can pay for basic food and housing. Imagine then the condition of people on income assistance that are trying to live on even less. Most commonly $950/mo. income assistance does not even reach the level of the "poverty line" but is well below it.
The general public have no idea how hard it is for people to stay alive and healthy on minimal incomes, and as inflation increases prices, it is getting worse. The increase in the homeless population, the food scarcity/expense and low incomes impacts people with jobs that pay below a living wage and those on fixed incomes like pensions, and, as I regularly write about -- many 10's of thousands on Income Assistance. We would like to address the public to inform others working to change the world, why we need to make common cause with workers and others that are struggling and not just working in our silos. (Raise the Income Assistance rates, provide non-market housing, raise minimum wage, demand living wages and pensions!) So we would like to give First Voice people living in poverty, a chance to explain what they are having to do to stay alive, what would make for improvements (raise the rates - get rid of subjective assessments and interfering in people's lives) and to start a conversation about how we can collaborate with workers, professionals, and others, to make a livable income and viable, livable community, for all.
To encourage those who want to come forward, about their situation, these opportunities need to take place more often. These opportunities could include panel discussions, protest rallies, and other types of event where people living in poverty can speak in front of an audience.
As a result, we need to reach out to people who have expertise in organizing and promoting events to help us, as first voice we cannot organize speaking opportunities alone. In this open letter we are asking for those with expertise to help organize something like a convention or a conference. -- an event of some sort where we can speak of our first voice experience on a panel. The Standard House Hold rate of $950.00 a month or in some cases only $609.00 a month is not enough money to live on. Lives of welfare recipients are negatively affected by the fact that Income Assistance caseworkers are following polices, but often need is subjectively determined when making decisions, and often they seem to ignore mental health considerations.
The following explains why I am copying everyone I have listed on this open letter:
EL Jones – I am cc-ing you on this open letter because you are a well known advocate and you have the experience and resources in organizing events. Also your advocacy to make prison conditions better is admirable.
I linked above to the Basic Income Conference, which is the reason why I am ccing this letter to Mandy Raining Bird and Pierre Stevens, who I interviewed about basic income Myself and Aaron (who also spoke) would love opportunities to speak before October 2024, the date of the next conference.
Tony Tracey and Suzanne MacNeil – I am cc-ing both of you because of your well known work with various labour organizations and activities and other connections, especially here in HRM. Also you have both he experience and expertise to organize an event.
Christine Saulnier – I am cc-ing you on this letter because you have did an awesome job organizing this event which meant a lot to the First Voice who attended. Also through my many years of knowing you this is not the first time I have ever seen you organize an event like this. Also with all the resources you have access to through your work with CCPA you have both experience and resources. We know you would organize a great event, of the sort we are asking for...
Halifax – Dartmouth & District Labour Council – I am cc-ing you on this because again it is all about needing to reach out to people who do have experience, expertise and resources. I myself and other first voice have see the work you do in organizing the Labour Day Rally each and every year.
Members of the EDA for MLA Gary Burrill in Halifax/Chebucto – Just like the NS-NDP as a whole supports the fact that people do need to be lifted out of Poverty, and advocating to end poverty and for things like basic income. You did an amazing job at organizing the Event talked about in this BLOG post. The Halifax/Chebuto EDA membership would make a great addition to an organizing team.
Jeff Krabinow – With your expertise running the Dalhousie School of Social Work I propose to you that an event like could like this could be an awesome learning addition for your students. Also cc-ing this letter is about resources you have access to. Also being the founder of Out of the Cold adds to the reason why you have the expertise we are looking for.
Danny Cavanagh – With your work at the Federation of Labour cc-ing this letter to you is about needing to reach out to people who have experience. Myself and other first voice want to speak on a panel about their situation need, solutions and building coalition. You have experience and resources.
Following the basic income conference, people from my community, suggested I write this open letter reaching out to those who are better off but who know the community for whom I advocate.
Just to reacap - First Voice, like myself and others, cannot organize an event on our own. The help is not going to come from people we know through standing in line at our Food-Banks and accessing Soup Kitchens. Also it cannot be the professionals like psychiatrists, psychologists, Social Workers, and Counsellors who support income assistance recipients where helping us organize, would be a conflict, or overstepping professional boundaries.
In the second post I ever wrote I outlined why my journalism and speaking is important and I encourage you to read it, as it is directly relevant to this request. Some of us need to speak up because too many people affected by the ESIA program do not speak out, and without giving them opportunity to come together and tell their stories to each other and to the public, nothing is going to change. Then as pointed out in my January 16, 2022 sharing resources goes along way. Everyone I am asking has access to some resources including human resources… As I said quoting dietitian Jen Brady… “What I would like to see is not just tweaks to what is essentially a broken system, but a major rethink to how we share wealth as a society and how we provide support for those whose employment and other life circumstances means that they need support...” And as she points out about “spouse in the house rule” and other limitations under ESIA that make sharing housing difficult: “Another important thing to consider is the way that living with someone can help people to healthier by allowing people to pool resources, which include money to bulk buy or buy larger amounts of food on sale. It also allows people to pool other resources to make the best use of things like the time it takes for grocery shopping, food preparation, and budget management. As well, for those with disabilities, or who just don’t like cooking, it allows people to pool their abilities and skills to create means of social support in their lives that those who aren’t living on social assistance have access to. In other words, people who don’t live on social assistance have a right to live with who they wish, and they benefit from that in many different way. People living on social assistance shouldn’t be prevented from the enjoying the same things that other people enjoy.”
I believe if we can get everyone I copied this letter to, and others, to help us organize an event where there is a panel discussion that includes First Voice articulating needs and solutions, and propsing the beginning of coalition with others, it could be done by sharing resources and the work.
As my BLOG post of May 22, 2022 and May 24, 2022 point out, changing the polices of Department of Community Services could improve the lives of IA recipients. And, as my post of May 28, 2022 illustrates, a Union of people living in poverty is needed, but is non existent.
If we cannot turn to you - the compassionate with an analysis, the well organized, in our community - where can we turn!?
I look forward to responses!
Kendall Worth!
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