By Kendall Worth!
A recent post talks about how much more expensive it is, and will be, for families and agencies to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, due to inflation. Some welfare recipients I talked to this year made a suggestion we should look at. They suggested that in 2023, where the homeless population in Nova Scotia continues to be on the rise, we should be thinking about how we include the ones who are totally homeless in celebrating Thanksgiving? Normally Thanksgiving is a holiday where people want to be celebrating with family and close friends, for those of us who are lucky enough to have family and or close friends to celebrate with.
Something that should be different with Thanksgiving 2023, when you logically think about this year’s situation, is the fact that being homeless is nothing to be thankful for. So , in 2023, if there was an opportunity, or if an opportunity could be created, maybe welfare recipients and the homeless could come together this year. This way those who are living in poverty and socially isolated, because of their situation, would not feel so alone.
Bob who I talked about here, and here, recently got some news of his own regarding the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. Bob, of course, is not his real name. Spending Thanksgiving with family has no longer been an option for BOB since the first days of COVID. However, over these past 3 years he did get an invite to spend Thanksgiving weekend with friends of his. Bob told me he recently got the news that the same friends of his who had him to their place the past 3 thanksgivings are not going to be able to have him over this year due to health issues in their home.
So this means, for the first year ever, Bob is going spend this coming Thanksgiving weekend alone by-himself this year. He is not looking forward to it, like any-one- else who lives in the situation of being alone and single with no family to spend time with would not be looking forward to it either. It is sad but Bob has to accept that he no choice this year – that he has no where to go for Thanksgiving this year in 2023. Family he used to spend holidays with before COVID, are now elderly and are still living today following COVID protocols even though Public Health restrictions wish no longer exist. Other family live in rural Nova Scotia but the cost of taking Maritime Bus, or Shuttles, are not in his budget.
So Bob has decided to not let being alone at Thanksgiving get him down. Instead he will be going around visiting the homeless encampments. The way Bob is looking at things this Thanksgiving is giving the homeless a Happy Thanksgiving Wish, will be appreciated by the homeless. Bob feels that other welfare recipients who will not be spending thanksgiving with family, if they wanted to get creative this Thanksgiving, could do the same. Bob suggested that maybe this idea is something the working poor could also think about for this coming Thanksgiving.
I should note that I have been in touch with some Better-off People who told me that because they are feeling the pinch this year due to inflation, they are not even sure if, or how, they will celebrate Thanksgiving this year.
I say despite inflation and Increasing homelessness … Lets be thankful for what we have got, this Thanksgiving, to the best of our abilities.
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