This post By Kendall Worth
As readers may remember, in this Recent BLOG post Here, was about a question by people who are not always Income Assistance Recipients themselves, who ask:
“Kendall, is the reason why a large number of income assistance recipients complain that only have very few or no friends, because they are on Income Assistance, or is it because of they do not have good social skills?”
Then there are arguments that come from the financially better off community, like:
“It does not make sense for us to hear and read things like, “Income assistance recipients are not friends with the people they see when they are at their food-banks and soup kitchens?” The people who bring this up tell me:
“Kendall many of us who have full-time jobs have friendships with the people we see at our places of employment.” Also occasionally a financially better off person will tell me “Kendall I have friends who are on Income Assistance and I have friends who have disabilities and they live full and enriched lives."
So not going to rehash all of that blog but do want to address, today, one major factor that often gets overlooked.
Since that post, I have been reminded by some readers that one major factor to keep in mind when I talk about the connection between living on Income Assistance and Social Isolation – STIGMA! Not every financially better off
person out there believes stigmatized stereotypes about people on income assistance, but I have covered it in a Serious of BLOG posts. A reader brought to my attention that even though things have changed with the Income Assistance rates, not all income assistance recipients are receiving the $1005.00 which I often reference.
That same reader sent me the fallowing chart wish will fallow what the reader in her email.
I am writing because I wanted to bring to your attention a common statement in your blogs. You often say that a “standard IA benefit” is $1,005 a month. But this is the enhanced IA benefit, which is only available to people who:
- a disability or a chronic mental, cognitive or physical condition that limits participation in employment services,
- are age 55 or older,
- are age 16 to 18 (inclusive), or
- are fleeing an abusive situation
Most individuals without dependants on AI receive considerably less as this table shows:
I want to thank this reader for bringing this to my attention.
As we can tell, none of the amounts mentioned in the Chart above, after paying bills and rent, are enough money to go out and do social things that cost money. However, the factor that gets overlooked is that even without having money to spend on going out for drinks, joining fitness centres, or eating at restaurants, still found creative ways within their limited finances to have community around them. This is the factor that gets overlooked.
I am writing today’s BLOG post because since my BLOG post dated October 19th
2025, I have been asked
questions like:
Kendall what about the income assistance recipients whose family members are not believers in
the stigma about them being on income assistance.
What about those income assistance recipients who are connected to Churches?
What about these Income Assistance Recipients who volunteer in their community?
According to members of the community I advocate for, when you look at the population of Income Assistance recipients in Halifax, with no evidence, I will guess that people who feel community around them amounts to about 20% of welfare recipients. However , we do need to ask ourselves Wouldn’t it be a great idea if people did not
have to depend on things like socializing with people who they stand in line with at their food-banks, or talking to people at their soup-kitchens, or attending church even though they are not Christian, in order to have a community of friends who they socialize with in their day-to-day lives? I believe it can be done and this is why I advocate for a Social Prescribing Organization to be started here in Halifax. This post here talks about “block parties with a purpose”... and represents one way forming this community could be achieved.
Hopefully after reading this current BLOG post, your question from my October 19th
2025 BLOG post is now fully answered.
Comments
Post a Comment