By Kendall Worth!
The Income Assistance (IA) recipient I am reporting about chose this unusual name. Like other Income Assistance recipients I have interviewed he does not want to use his real name. AL-Man is one of many who are affected by the surveillance under Income Assistance and is scared to come forward.
Al-Man gets the Standard household rate of $950.00 plus the $40.00 telephone allowance; receiving $990.00 a month. Then $850.00 a month goes to rent then another $70.00 a month goes to pay his Nova Scotia Power Bill then another $40.00 Goes directly to this phone so that he has $40.00 left for all other needs.
AL-Man wanted to tell me his story because he has recently begun to read my blog and his day to day life is similar. He is a Diabetic and talked to me about Section 8.3.3 of the ESIA policy manual which describes a special diet allowance for diabetes. About a year ago or so ago, he got a letter from his doctor for his I caseworker requesting the funding for the Diabetes Allowance. The request did not get approved, because, the IA caseworker said she she needed more information on the Medical Need for this Diet. His doctor got a phone-call from the caseworker further questioning the need for this special diet. In addition, the Income Assistance Caseworker informed AL-Man that he needed to regularly be followed by a dietitian in-order to qualify for this diabetes special diet allowance. AL-Man did appeal and the decision was upheld.
From: https://www.unitedwayhalifax.ca/blog/what-are-the-social-determinants-of-health/
So, now AL-Man is struggling with his dietary needs, and his doctor has decided that he is just not going to cooperate or be further questioned about his diagnoses and treatment plans by a non-medical income assistance case worker. If AL-Man’s MD would cooperate then maybe he would have been approved for the Special Diet funding by now. He has discussed his dietary needs with his food bank, and they do the best they can to accommodate , but they cannot always meet his needs. I previously reported on the special diet nonsense and it is clearly still with us. Current inflation makes things no better. He is also worried about his health worsening because he cannot get his dietary needs met.
Al-Man also suffers from mental health issues, like depression and anxiety. He has worked in the past and wants to re-enter the work force. He said that during the days of COVID restrictions his mental health got so bad, that, when things re-opened he just could not go back to work. For a while he suffered from severe depression and was treated for it. He told me there have been times in his past when getting approached and getting accused of Inappropriate Body Language and spoken to about his body language making others feel uncomfortable, happened to him. I wrote about that previously in several places here. He misses his days of working. During his days of working he was living day-to-day much less depressed than currently. He also worries about becoming homeless. He is already getting warnings from his land-lord that his rent will be going up at least $200.00 a month if the current rent cap is lifted after 2025. Al-man and I both agreed that life is scary these days.
Just like many income assistance recipients AL-Man just does not know where to turn anymore. Life is hopeless these days.
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