By Kendall Worth!
Lets Start off with a bit of background on where the title for this post comes from:
Go back to my post of July 10, 2023 where I talked about the benefits of income assistance recipients wearing Body Cameras. I Illustrated the reasons why this would be a benefit.
Since posting this article, I have had conversations with Income Assistance Recipients, in my community, who talked to me about different reasons that they wish they had Body Cameras. However, following the July 10th post, I met with a group of Income Assistance Recipients who described the one thing, they would like to catch-on-camera, the most. Those I met with in that grouptold me about issues in the past where, during appointments, professionals like psychiatrists, psychologists, Social Workers, and counsellors have treated them like it is their (the Income Assistance Recipient's) own fault that they are in this situation in the first place.
Since my blog has been up and running for a couple of years, many of you readers will have picked up on the fact that I cover a lot of mental health related stuff. Many of my posts demonstrate the connection between Mental Health and the causes of Mental Health issues, or, in some cases, the worsening of mental health conditions resulting from having only the $950.00 a month Standard House Hold Rate to live on. In some cases Income Assistance recipients only get $609.00 a month to live on.
And… a bit more about where the title is coming from … it is never difficult for anyone to figure out, that, after running out of those small allowances, I just mentioned, there is next to nothing left for going out and socializing with people. Then the group told me it was good news that the Mitigating Social Isolation Project (for more see https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/mitigating%20social%20isolation ) is now in existence.
Many of my past BLOG posts are on Social Prescriptions https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20prescription and Social Prescribing, https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20prescribing, and also point out reasons why it is difficult for Income Assistance Recipients to get out and socialize.
In the Conversations I have had with people just this past week, they reference this article, https://nsadvocate.org/2017/01/25/kendall-worth-on-mental-health-and-isolation-for-people-living-in-poverty-there-is-next-to-nothing/ and, even though this one was posted in the Nova Scotia Advocate back in 2017, we all agreed it is still relevant today. If you were to click on the link for this article you would actually see that I illustrate how much social activity with a related cost… members of the financially better off community take for granted. When that article was written, the income assistance rate was only $810.00 a month. Now, with inflation, I suspect some of the costs I outlined in this 2017 article have gone up.
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| https://cmha.ca/news/emergency-departments-arent-the-cure-for-our-mental-health-crisis-but-theres-nowhere-else-to-turn/ |
In this link: https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20isolation I include many articles that talk about Social isolation, and why the system of Employment Support and Income Assistance, (ESIA) through Community Services plays a part in why those I advocate for live socially isolated lives. And for one major example of how the policies of the ESIA program plays a part see https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/cohabitation-and-social-assistance.html and for Part#2 of this BLOG Post see https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/part-ii-cohabitation-and-618-of-esia.html Those posts I just linked to, outline the polices of the ESIA program, and the benefits of changing parts of the policy, or getting rid of a policy all together.
During visits to the QE#2 Emerg when the Income Assistance Recipients complain to mental professionals about things like:
Not having money to go out and socialize with people after rent and bills are paid
Not having friends who they can get together with for coffee or to go for a walk.
They do not have any supportive family members they can contact.
And complaining to the professionals during these visits about Friendships ending for the specific reason talked about in this post: https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-support-group-people-living-in.html . Being accused of not respecting Boundaries. Note – The BLOG post I just linked points out Boundaries we all have to Respect in life Regardless of our Mental health and income situations. Also points out the need for a certain type of Support Group.
Complaining about being alone, when places like the Soup-kitchens and Drop-ins, are closed.
So when someone calls 911, because they see someone with inappropriate body language or revealing suicidal thoughts, what does the public expect will happen? It is a difficult question to answer and one medical professionals know the answer to. The reality is, what is available at the QEII emergency department is medication for anxiety and depression. No matter which of these reasons for the visit. The person who made the 911 call from a public place, is someone who, in 99% of cases, does not even know the income assistance recipient from Adam. It means the person calling 911 does not know how little money they have to live on, and that they have no friends to socialize with. So, again, what does the public expect them to get out of these visits? What is clear is If rent and bills
are behind, the mental health program is not going to give them money to catch up on their bills. If the person is homeless, the mental health professional is not going to set them up with housing. In most cases the mental health professionals during these visits do not want to even work with them to help them find resources. All the mental health professionals will do, is take out their pen and paper and prescribe medication for depression and anxiety. Taking medication does not solve every problem.
One person I talked to this past week asked Why not have a respite room within the Hospital for those do not necessarily need to be on a medication for depression or anxiety but where people who are visiting the Emergency Room only because they need human contact and maybe there can be a professional (Non Medical Person) in that room for them to talk to. There have have been times when the Income Assistance Recipients got spoken to in a judgmental manner by the mental health professionals as if it is their own fault - both having no friends and having to visit emergency rooms. Everyone agrees that it is very unprofessional for them to think this way.
Good Idea I think!
Lets continue work of the Mitigating Social Isolation Project and find a solutions, or find other solutions!
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