By Kendall Worth
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| Maybe no plates full of food this year? |
I scaled back on my journalism over this past month because I needed to take a break to tend to a personal matter as explained in my BLOG post dated Oct 3rd, 2025. I specifically said at the end of that post – to Watch for my Thanksgiving 2025 BLOG post coming this week, and here it is!
My BLOG is all about looking at what it is like to live in poverty from all perspectives, to remind you and educate you, therefore, I want to say something about reasons why it is important to talk about Holidays -- especially the ones like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter -- as part of my Journlism. There is a lot to be said regarding the reasons why.
First – If you look here and here I use to report on the Holidays, in the now folded Nova Scotia Advocate. and especially on the effects holidays have on people living in poverty. And something else to further educate and remind you, if you click on this link, (from April 10, 2025) you will learn that the Income Assistance rates in Nova Scotia, since I began reporting on poverty related issues in 2013, have not always been the $1005.00 rate it is at present. Before becoming the present $1005.00 rate,you must consider the rates in the past:
In 2013/2014 $790.00 a month
From 2015 till 2020 $810.00 a month
In 2020 $850.00 a month
In 2021 $950.00 a month
Now, the rate is is $1005.00
This post, elaborates on the post above from April 10th, 2025. The principle point is when you look at the current situation, and take into account the rate of inflation, the cost of going to the grocery store and buying a turkey and all the fixings for the Thanksgiving Dinner is less and less affordable. Another side to this is Thanksgiving is suppose to be a time for celebrating being thankful for what you have. In Halifax these days, there is a not a lot to be thankful for… What I am talking about includes:
Ever increasing homeless population in Halifax and the increased population of housed people who are at risk of becoming homeless due to them finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. When you look at how expensive housing is in Halifax these days, -- apartment Rentals being close to $2000 in the private housing market, this is why we cannot be thankful for this one.
As I point out in all my past BLOG posts and articles where I talk about Holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, the stigma that Income Assistance recipients face in every day life, and in some cases, even within the community of people living on Income Assistance. And if the stigma comes from family – then even getting to spend the holiday with them is nothing to be thankful for! For more on “stigma” check out these posts.
In many other cases Income Assistance recipients, and others living in poverty, do not get invitations to go to the homes of friends or family for any holiday. In these cases they end up having no choice but to either spend holidays alone within the walls of their apartments, or go to a dinner hosted by places like a Church, not for profit organization, or a soup kitchen. This is nothing to be thankful for because (and especially in cases where the Income Assistance Recipient does have family or close friends) anyone including Income Assistance recipients want to be spending holidays with friends or family.
Something else I talk about in some of my BLOG posts is the importance of respecting boundaries. See here. On these holidays, even though places like banks, Government offices and stores may be closed because staff are taking the holiday off, the need for respecting boundaries and why it is important to respect boundaries does not take a holiday. Even when we are lucky enough to have family and friends in our personal lives, and they do not invite us for holidays, it is still a major example of a boundary we have to respect. Within the community of people I advocate for on my BLOG, “Respecting Boundaries” can be a mental health issue, and can deter and encourage social isolation. This is one reason why I advocate for Solutions to this problem.
At this point it is unknown to me if any soup kitchen, church, or not for profit organization is putting on a Thanksgiving dinner this year. There is talk in my community, that Souls Harbour may host a Thanksgiving Dinner this year. However, what date over Thanksgiving weekend they will do this ,seems to be unknown to community members.
Before ending this BLOG post there is one other thing some people in my community have recently told me about whether or not they plan to even celebrate Thanksgiving this year. In recent conversations I have had with people who are part of the community I advocate for, the question comes up: why should be even be thinking about Thanksgiving this year in 2025, when many of us are struggling to pay rent and bills?
When you look at the complexity of the issues that are facing the lives of the people I advocate for, it is understandable. I am also getting this comment when I talk to some people about the Social Prescribing Organization, I have written about and promoted, many times. (When I talk about the creating of a Social Prescribing Organization at times the question comes up “Kendall I am struggling and yet you want to create an organization that is going to take me to a Move or Restaurant every now and again?)” One issue that gets pointed out in these conversations is that, even when places like Souls Harbour, a local church, a Not-for-Profit organization or a Soup-Kitchen does put on a holiday dinner, some people will not attend, and would rather be alone, because of the Level of Drama especially for introverts, that goes on at these places. I have had recent conversation with Income Assistance Recipients who tell me that they stopped attending these Holiday Dinners hosted by Souls Harbour and other organizations, because of experiences in the past while attending. They have had experiences where others ended up not respecting the boundaries of the specific Income Assistance recipients. The informants I am talking about here, not being interested in making friends with other people they see at these meal programs. These people also pointed out, it is difficult while present at these holiday meal programs, to having private Conversations with those who are friends, when they see other people who they personally know but do not want to be friends with. So, some have stopped attending these holiday dinners because of behaviour like that happening while they are in attendance.
Now, just to be clear, the reason I added the link about Social Prescribing, is because of what the concept of holidays and social prescribing have in common. They are all about creating solutions for socializing and maintaining mental health.
I want to close this current BLOG post by saying Happy Thanksgiving and celebrate Thanksgiving 2025 the best way you know how.
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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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