Living on Income Assistance: a First Voices Update

 

By Kendall Worth

 Regular readers of this blog will know that one of my primary commitments to readers is to highlight and amplify First Voices, - the voices of people living in poverty and dealing with life on income assistance.

 When transcribing the words of ordinary people, I often use “fake names”to ensure that these same people who have the courage to speak up are not then stigmatized or punished. I know that some people have problems with this as a journalistic device, but in my experience it is necessary to conceal real identities in order to get these voices on the record.

 In terms of subject matter, I try my best to provide information on changes to Nova Scotia’s Employment Support and Income Assistance program – including updates on changes already happening, as well as advocating for changes needed but not yet in place.

Some of these changes are specific to particular programs or policies. Others are more “systemic” or societal in nature. In all cases, I try to capture and amplify the voices of people actually living on Income Assistance – what I call “First Voices”. These conversations inevitably draw us into issues of homelessness and mental health. Using a fake name can be an important pre-condition for individuals to share their personal stories, so I remain committed to this practice.

Recently, I shared my own reflections on how the challenges faced by one organization that attempted to create a safe space for ESIA clients to speak up on the issues they face. I also shared the story of one individual who had also attempted to organize our community.

However, not ALL of my BLOGS do include First Voices other than my own. Sometimes the articles are more technical in nature, discussing programs and policies. At other times, the BLOG focuses on my own analysis and ideas for change.

 Nonetheless, I remain committed to capturing and sharing the First Voices of others, as and when possible. And in today’s BLOG I want to share feedback I have received on the two recent increases in Income Assistance rates.

Two of the most recent changes to ESIA that I have discussed were the $300 increase for a majority of Income Assistance recipients which started in May 2024, and then the $24.00 a month increase which followed in July. 

I discussed these increases with Mar-a-ille (not his real name) who had also talked to me in March and was quoted in the BLOG cited above. I also interviewed Sak-Rye (also not his real name) and then with others, discussed the experience of living day-to-day on welfare.

The universal feedback was appreciation for the small increases in benefits – “they are small steps in the right direction”. But it was widely felt that such modest increases are simply not adequate in a time of inflation. People felt that the rising costs experienced at the grocery store check-out had more than canceled out the increases in benefits received.

The good news from the two named individuals was that both confirmed that since we last spoke, they had indeed qualified for the $300 supplement. However, this success was not universal and many others, who feel that they met the required criteria but had been deemed ineligible. It is estimated that to this day, some 60% of Income Assistance recipients are not yet receiving that supplement. So clearly, some serious problems persist with the system or policy.

I am not sure if many other people remember the promise of a previous government to “transform ESIA”.  But in light of the current situation, many years later, one has to wonder it that was anything but a sad and cruel hoax.

People have similar doubts and longstanding frustrations over the process for qualifying for a Special Diet Allowance. These issues were flagged years ago, but have never been effectively addressed. This has been underlined to me in a series of recent interviews with First Voices, as they talk of their struggles to qualify for a Special Diet Allowance.

At a bare minimum, Community Services should surely increase the Special Diet Allowances in keeping with inflation.  Similarly, there is a great need to also increase the Standard Household Rate as well as the Disability Supplement.

Yet another issue related to ESIA that needs to be part of the larger “transformation” process is the infamous Section 6.1.8 that punishes recipients of benefits for joining together to share basic costs of living. I wrote about this issue years ago, and it remains a major concern of many of the First Voices that I hear today. 

One final update on First Voices: I have been pleased to hear through my network the extent to which my recent BLOGS on social prescribing as well as the need for a Social Prescription organization in Nova Scotia resonated with people. They all agree that their mental health is adversely affected by not being able to afford to do much that gets them out in the community, socializing with people. They appreciate that the type of organization that I am advocating for could be an important part of the solution for addressing issues of loneliness and social isolation.

There is much that remains to be done.  And if the system is unable to heal or improve itself, it is up to all of us to nudge forward those processes of healing and improvement.

Kendall Worth is an award-winning anti-poverty activist who lives with disabilities and tries to make ends meet on income assistance.