The Christmas Wish List 2025

  By Kendall Worth

 

As many of you readers know, every year around this time, I report on the upcoming Christmas Holiday Season including reporting on several items which members of the community I advocate for, want, for Christmas.

One of the reasons I put a lot of weight on reporting on Christmas, is to reflect on the meaning of the season,  and what the meaning of Christmas should be. Many members of the financially-better-off community get to celebrate this holiday to it’s fullest. People living in poverty and on Income Assistance... not so much. Christmas should be a time of year when, whether you have a job, and what type of work you do, or generally where your money comes from… should not matter. Christmas is suppose to be about celebrating and spending time with family and friends plus forgiveness, happiness and joy. We need to ask ourselves this Christmas, shouldn’t people living in poverty be included, and how can this be achieved?

You can read the 2024 wish list, here, but, this year we are coming into a Christmas season where the need for some of those same items repeats itself. These items include:

1. More housing solutions and winter shelter solutions for those living in tents.

2. Solutions to social isolation, (especially for those who are housed) not only for Christmas time, but always.

3. Access to winter clothing for the homeless population and others who are living in poverty, and who are in need.

4. Income Assistance Recipients who benefited from these Christmas Dinners are hoping those dinners continue and that they are also inclusive of the homeless population.

In 2025, the need for the above items did not change from 2024.

Before I get into the differences this year – another review of past events…

As readers may remember, another item on last years Christmas wish list was A substantial increase in the income assistance rates, meaning something better than the $24.00 increase we got in July 2024. As reported in this post, 2025 did start off with Income Assistance Recipients getting a $31.00 Increase in the income assistance rates.

This Brings me to item #5 for this current Christmas wish list.

5. We wish for the N.S. government to do better. In 2026 provide people on Income Assistance a much more substantial living allowance, than we received in 2025!

As pointed out in this post, many Income Assistance recipients tell me they have, over the years, felt forced to become introverts,  and, incomes that are too low for socializing, played a part in the reason why. This post elaborates on this and also makes the point about how being forced into isolation, - “a forced introvert” - can effect one’s ability to be socially comfortable celebrating holidays.

What’s new on the Christmas Wish List for this year?

#6 To substantially increase the new Federal Disability Benefit (started in July), from the current $200 per month, to an amount that will actually lift people with disabilities out of poverty.

#7 For some sort of mental health service to become available over the actual 2 weeks of Christmas. As pointed out in this post, unlike other holidays, Christmas, especially for those who are going to spend Christmas by-themselves, and not by choice, can be deteriorating mental health for up to 2 weeks.

#8 For better mental health programs and social supports to be created and better funded year around.

I will conclude this post by saying Lets find solutions this Christmas season, and lets celebrate Christmas to the best of our abilities, this year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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