By Kendall Worth!
Dear Premier Tim Houston, Nova Scotia Minster of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson, and other advocates who may be interested in advocating for a solution to social isolation;
CC/ Disability organizations and poverty activists/advocates in Nova Scotia;
Hello,
My name is Kendall Worth and I have been an advocate for a long time, advocating solutions to poverty, the mental health system, and solutions for other social issues that people living in poverty experience in day – to – day life. As this BLOG post points out, I recently attended a Social Prescribing conference in Toronto. Before getting into the nitty gritty of this open letter, I just want to say that bringing Social Prescribing to Nova Scotia may sound like something new, however, with collaboration and strategic planning I believe social prescribing could be implemented in Nova Scotia.
I am writing today’s open letter to demonstrate the case that this is needed in Nova Scotia, particularly in Halifax. I had been advocating for this to come to Halifax since I first wrote about it, on January 28th 2019 in the, now folded, Nova Scotia Advocate. I continued to advocate for this on my BLOG since then. See here and here The #1 principal is to look at the relationship between social issues, mental health and poverty. We need solutions for social isolation which I also address on my BLOG.
I want to bring to your attention, that, for a short time here in Halifax we had a project which was not a social prescribing program, but a project attempting to mitigate social isolation in persons living in poverty. https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/mitigating%20social%20isolation The project was implemented as All Together Link, funded by a Halifax Community Health Board grant. The work of this project was similar to part of what the work of both a Social Prescription Program and Social Prescribing Organization could look like. During the existence of this project, and through my involvement with this project I got to know people from different walks of life, and with a variety of mental health issues. My attendance at the conference in Toronto made me realize that Nova Scotia could benefit from this type of organization.
Premier Houston and Minister Thompson I should let you know important details about why I got interested in advocating for this. #1 – If you look at my BLOG Dated November 03, 2023 you would see that All Together Link got support from the Dalhousie University Social Work Clinic. #2 – If you look at this post dated May 31, 2024 you will find that the project got some interest from the Community Health Team – It was actually 2 Employees from the Community Health Team who recommended I should attend the Toronto Conference. In addition, while in attendance at the Conference, I actually got to meet an employee of Nova Scotia Health who was very supportive of Social Prescribing.
To point out more of the rationale for the Social Prescribing need in Nova Scotia, I also want you to look at my post from December 11, 2022 where part of what I reported on was that a community contact, and myself, were working on a business plan for a possible Social Prescription program in Halifax. That post also includes a SWOT Analysis of the idea of a social prescribing organization.
I have been researching this idea of Social Prescribing for years, as you can tell. I believe a Social Prescription/Social Prescribing Organization can benefit Nova Scotia, especially in Halifax because we have a large population of Income Assistance Recipients, as well as aging Seniors. Many, in both populations, have disconnected from supports for a variety of reasons. The reasons are related to stigma about being on welfare, and Seniors who are lonely. One thing that was talked about at the conference is that, for mental health consumers of any age, such an organization can provide more opportunity for person centred care.
I find that from my personal experience of living day to day in Halifax, many from our younger population who live in poverty, also have social anxiety. From what I learned in Toronto, I believe the existence of such an organization can make a huge difference in the life of someone with social anxiety. If you go back to my post dated January 16, 2022 there is a piece that talks about how sharing resources can be a solution to social isolation. A Social Prescription/Social Prescribing organization can provide more opportunity to connect with people with whom one could share resources.
Anyway, in this open letter, and in the links provided through out this letter, I have provided you with the rationale for why this is needed in Nova Scotia. I look forward to talking to you more about this idea.
Yours Truly,
Kendall Worth!
Comments
Post a Comment