By Kendall Worth!
Its a bit over a week since the Nova Scotia Provincial election was called, and unlike the Provincial Election of August 2021 https://nsadvocate.org/2021/08/10/kendall-worth-thoughts-in-my-community-on-the-provincial-election/ we we are no longer in the days of COVID Lock-Downs and Restrictions. Therefore, protocols that had to be followed in 2021 are no longer relevant.
While I am writing this post, I am thinking about how All Together Link has come to an end a couple of months ago and how in 2017 I myself volunteered in an Election Campaign I suggest that if those who used to come to the All Together Link events volunteered on an election campaign could be their opportunity for socializing and making friends, during the short lived time of election.
In October 2019 I volunteered on Christine Saulnier's Campaign when she ran for the Halifax Federal seat. The Main idea behind writing this current BLOG post is that, from my past experience, there are a lot of no cost opportunities available while volunteering on election campaigns. I advocate for people to get out and socialize during short-lived time of the election campaign.
For a totally unrelated article that also illustrates how doing volunteer work in your community can be another affordable/free thing to do, for someone living in poverty. See https://nsadvocate.org/2016/10/07/being-on-income-assistance-is-wo.
Doing any kind of Volunteer work in your community has lots of benefits.
Anyway if any first voice income assistance recipients are reading this, not only do I encourage you to get out and volunteer on the election campaign for purposes of socializing, and gaining volunteer experience. It is also an opportunity for you to talk to the Candidates who are running in this election, from your perspectives of being a first voice person, about your experience of living life on Income Assistance.
From my personal experience, volunteering on any Election campaign, And yes there is a fee to join a party, but at elections the people running the campaign do not care whether or not you can afford the fee to join the party. This is a good thing, that you do not have to pay a fee to join a Political Party, for Income Assistance Recipients, because they cannot afford it, especially with the Income Assistance rates being what they are. Even with the increases in income assistance rates that happened in May 2024 and again in July 2024 money, after rent and bills are paid, is still not enough to go out and socialize with, or pay the registration fee to join a party.
Anyway, when, during the time of any Provincial Election, income assistance recipients have an opportunity to volunteer on a provincial election campaign, it is yet another affordable/free opportunity to get out and socialize with people.
Kendall Worth is an award-winning anti-poverty activist who lives with disabilities and tries to make ends meet on income assistance.
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