By Kendall Worth!
It has been some time since I last discussed social stigma in this BLOG. It is an issue I first addressed in a 2016 article as I reflected on my own experience trying to rent an apartment. And the issue of stigma has come up in a number of BLOGS since.
Today, I will share the experiences of four Income Assistance recipients who shared with me their recent first-hand experiences of social stigma.
For new readers, I suppose I should re-state my belief that the stigmatizing of individuals on Income Assistance contributes significantly to the mental health issues faced by these same people. This stigma can take many forms, not least of all harassment from people in the community (most often better-off members of society) who have no understanding of the issues faced by these people, members of my community. As I have explained in an earlier BLOG, sometimes the stigma is rooted in their social status as “welfare recipients”. Other times, it is rooted in their mental health challenges.
I have written openly about my own struggles in this regard. And I have written elsewhere about how these mental health challenges take many forms and have many sources: they may be linked to social anxiety, an obsessive compulsive disorder, learning disabilities and more.
With regards to the problem of harassment, I want to underline that this does not come from the professionals with whom we engage regularly, like doctors, psychologists, social workers or counsellors. These people have a good understanding of our situation and our lives and are generally very respectful. For many people on Income Assistance, these relationships are the most understanding and supportive we have in our lives, even if they are professional in nature and not friendship based.
The power of social stigma is such that people in my community are often reluctant to openly share their personal stories. And when they do open up to a journalist like me, they want to do so anonymously so as to avoid even FURTHER social stigma in their day to day lives. For that reason, I give my contacts the option of using pseudonyms (“fake names”) when I tell their stories in these pages. This is what I have done this week.
#1 – Mia’s Story: Mia receives the standard household rate of Income Assistance, which is now set at $1,005 a month plus, as reported in this BLOG post. Mia is one of the 60% of IA recipients who qualifies for the $300 a month supplement. Last year, Mia decided to seek a volunteer placement in a local non-profit thrift store in order to break out of her social isolation, get some workplace experience and set a new direction in her life.
However, within a few months, Mia felt compelled to step down from her volunteer position because of the attitudes of her fellow volunteers. Mia felt stigmatized and harassed by never-ending questions about her life and status. Questions and comments like:
• “So, how do you spend the money you get from Income Assistance?”
• “Why do you not work a paying, full time job during the day?”
• “You say you are disabled, but you do not look disabled to us.”
• “If you do have “invisible” disabilities, you should probably be living in a group home”.
Mia told me during our interview that these comments were uncalled for and hurtful. She had hoped to gain important work experience as a volunteer, before seeking paid employment. But Mia felt so harassed in the workplace that she left her volunteer placement.
Case #2 – Wart’s Story: (This was his suggestion for a pseudonym, not mine!) In terms of benefits, Wart gets the Standard Household rate as well as the Disability Supplement, plus special needs allowances for a telephone and special diet. Wart tells me that he has had to deal with multiple examples of stigma, including:
• Hostility from his own family members who do not accept the idea that he is receiving IA benefits rather than working. His family just does not accept this way of living.
• Wart lives with certain learning disabilities as well as Crohn’s Disease. He has faced suspicion and hostility from others who do not believe that he actually has these conditions and disabilities. On occasion, this has led to him feeling harassed by people who suggest that he has psychiatric or mental health issues and should be medicated.
Let me insert here that I have written about such situations before, here and here. My concern has always been that members of the public reporting to law enforcement and seeking to criminalize involuntary behaviour can have a hugely negative impact on the lives of people struggling with different issues.
Case #3: Bob’s Story: Bob has been featured in my BLOG before, and recently shared with me two incidents where he had stigma directed towards him. In the first, in early December, he was stopped on the street and spoken to by Police after his behaviour had been reported by a stranger driving by. Bob was literally told by police that the complainant reported that he was clearly off his medication and required attention. To underline, - Bob was simply going about his day, minding his own business and not causing any trouble when this happened!
The second incident happened in January when Bob was on his way to work at a job he has taken to supplement his income. While changing buses one morning he was approached by a woman who recognized him but whom Bob did not remember. All of a sudden, on the street, this woman started asking Bob a series of very personal and private questions. “What is the status of your mental health these days?” “What is your diagnosis?” “Have you had a recent brain scan?” “Are you still on Income Assistance?”
NONE of that was that women’s business! And Bob was so shocked and traumatised by the exchange that he has changed his bus route to work, just to avoid any chance of meeting this woman again.
Case #4 : Jess’s Story Like others on Income Assistance, Jess is estranged from many people in his personal life who do not believe that he has mental health issues and invisible disabilities, including anxiety, depression, OCD, and dyslexia. Estrangement from family, friends and home seems to be particularly difficult for those of us who grew up in rural Nova Scotia, as I wrote some years ago. This incident happened to Jess in January, as he went out shopping for groceries. There he ran into someone who he knew from his past who immediately asked Jess if he was working these days. When Jess informed this person that he is not working and is on Income Assistance, this person responded that “It is not socially acceptable to be on Income Assistance – you need to get an F***ing job!”
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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