What will it take to make a REAL difference in the lives of Income Assistance Recipients?

 By Kendall Worth!

Let me open this BLOG on Income Assistance with a bit of good news.  Last month, I shared the story of Mr X who felt that he had been unfairly denied the Disability Supplement, which would have meant an additional $318 per month to his already overstretched household budget.

When I wrote that BLOG, Mr. X was in the process of appealing that decision. The ESIA appeal process has two steps: the first is an administrative review of the applicant’s file and application. If that is unsuccessful, the next option a face-to-face hearing with the Appeals Board. Anyway, the GREAT NEWS just received from Mr X is that the original decision has been reversed in the administrative review process.  

This is very good news for Mr. X, who will now receive the supplement every month, which will greatly improve his financial situation. But this decision could ALSO be a hopeful sign for many others who engage with Nova Scotia’s program for Employment Support and Income assistance (ESIA).  This is because applicants rarely win their appeals through Administrative Review. 

In fact, I think this is the ONE AND ONLY CASE I have EVER seen of someone winning their appeal without having to go through the stress and anxiety of facing the Appeals Board.  So, in my own hopeful mind, perhaps this will be both a learning moment for ESIA and a turning point for how it handles the appeals process.   

With this good news in hand, Mr. X and I then got into a conversation about “the BIG Question”:  What would it take to make a REAL difference in the lives of Income Assistance Recipients?  

My Priorities for ESIA Reform: 

There are three points on my personal wish list for ESIA reform: 

• Top of my list is the introduction of a system of Guaranteed Basic Income. I have explained and promoted the Basic Income policy option in a number of earlier BLOGS, including here. Over the years, I have become an advocate of this approach as the best method of addressing the fundamental financial realities of poverty in our society.   

• Also near the top of my wish list is the need to address the issue of social stigma that continues to be faced by those who live on Income Assistance. This is a topic I have written extensively about for many years, including here, here, here and here. Given that stigma is a problem of attitudes and perception, it appears that it is more easily observed and described than actually addressed and solved. 

• Finally, high on my wish list would be a strategy and program to address the issue of social isolation which is a major obstacle faced by many people on IA. I have also written extensively about this issue, including here. Social isolation is often minimized by others, who suggest that people just need to be more outgoing and engage more with others.  However, First Voices overwhelmingly identify isolation as a big barrier and a source of not only day-to-day anxiety but also longer term mental health issues. Facilitating social engagement should not be viewed as an “add-on” for service agencies and community organizations. It should be considered a pillar of the government’s Employment Support and Income Assistance Program, as well as the mental health system. 

Those three items are MY priorities for reforming the ESIA system. Let me now share what First Voices in my community are telling me with regards to “making a difference” in the lives of Income Assistance recipients. 

First Voices on needed ESIA reforms: 

Let me note that Mr. X is not the only First Voice I have spoken with on this topic. Others have also contributed their views and experiences but are reluctant to share their names or the specifics of their own situations and circumstances. 

Many share my disappointment with regards to the abandoning of the “ESIA Transformation” initiative launched by the Liberals. At one time, this initiative held the promise of designing a whole new way of engaging with IA recipients.  One notable step under the Liberals was the reduction of the self-employment claw back mechanism in 2019, which I discussed here. I considered it a step in the right direction that would incentivize – rather than punish – IA recipients who pursued self-employment opportunities. 

Unfortunately, upon forming government, the Houston Conservatives shelved the ESIA transformation process. This was a huge disappointment to our community as I have discussed in earlier BLOGS. On the positive side,  the PC government has since taken some modest steps to increase the amounts of benefits paid, which is to be commended. We should also remember that these increases, and most notably the bumping up of the Standard Household Rate, only happened after years of high inflation that had worsened the financial situation of IA recipients. 

Beyond the basic financial concerns around benefit rates, First Voices also express concerns as to how ESIA policies actively contribute to people’s social isolation.  For example, I have written before (here and here) about the unhelpful policies and restrictive regulations around co-habitation that greatly limit the life choices of people living on Income Assistance.  

Furthermore, there needs to be much more attention paid to connecting the dots between Income Assistance programs and policies, and those of the mental health system. In my community, people who are trying to navigate between and across these two systems often find it complicated and problematic. Perhaps the mental health system should be assigned responsibility for leading the design and delivery of different social programs. 

Of course, a Basic Income system would eliminate much of the bureaucratic nonsense that IA applicants and recipients have to fight through, to secure access to programs and allowances. The Special Diet Allowance is particularly problematic, as I have discussed here and here. 

Hopefully, a Basic Income program would also eliminate the worries and anxieties associated with the current practice of Annual Reviews, as I have addressed here. It might also end the unhelpful restrictions on co-habitation and romantic relationships.  Many of us are keenly aware that the most effective anti-poverty policy we have seen in a generation was the CERB benefit during the pandemic, which was a Basic Income style program through which people received $2000 with a simple application and comparatively “few strings attached”.

The bottom line is that for many of us in my community, engaging with the ESIA system remains a major source of anxiety for current and prospective recipients of Income Assistance. Solving this problem could comprise many steps:  the introduction of a Basic Income approach is certainly one. Re-assigning elements of ESIA to other agencies – including the mental health system – could be another. And establishing a Social Prescription Program or Organization is certainly another.

There is so much yet to be done.

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