By Kendall Worth
Whether I’m talking about the need to rebirth BRAG or to start a new Union of People Living in Poverty to replace BRAG, one thing is clear: the need for an organized, united voice is stronger than ever.
Where This Call Comes From
As
many of you know, through my BLOG I advocate for a whole community of
people here in Halifax, Nova Scotia who rely on Income Assistance
through the Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) program.
As I covered in this recent
post:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2025/10/income-and-community-overlooked-factor.html
Income
Assistance recipients are surviving on a standard household rate
of $1005.00 or less, depending on their
circumstances.
These are real lives and real struggles—stories that are often ignored by mainstream media, as highlighted here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2025/08/why-we-need-to-amplify-for-what-matters.html
First-voice
experiences of people affected by bureaucratic nonsense, systemic
issues, and the daily grind of poverty rarely get heard.
And community members tell me regularly that the one voice they did
have—the one that spoke up for them—is getting weaker. Honestly,
many feel it has been weakening ever since BRAG shut down,
as documented
here:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/04/brag-breaking-news.html
and
in this
article:
https://nsadvocate.org/2016/11/02/kendall-worth-about-the-benefits-reform-action-group-a-personal-reflection/
BRAG—Benefits Reform Action Group—was once a crucial support system for people on Income Assistance.
For more on BRAG’s history See:https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/Benefits%20Reform%20Action%20Group
Back
in 2022, I suggested rebuilding BRAG into something even stronger—a
Union of People Living in
Poverty:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/union-of-people-living-inpoverty-by.html
For more on why I suggested this union:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2023/01/an-open-letter-to-people-living-in.html
What the Community Is Telling Me Today
In recent conversations with people living on these extremely low Income Assistance rates, I keep hearing the same thing:
“Aside from your BLOG, Kendall, there is no voice speaking up for us anymore.”
With BRAG gone, people feel like they have no support system at
all. Honestly, when I write the first-voice
stories—
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/first%20voice
—I
often feel like a one-man show, carrying on the work
BRAG once did with a whole team.
People regularly ask me:
“What is holding you back from starting BRAG again?”
Why BRAG Can’t Be Restarted by one person Alone
Even though I chaired BRAG from 2013–2017 and helped found it—as
shown in this
article:
https://nsadvocate.org/2017/09/13/news-brief-anti-poverty-organizers-get-organized/
—I
was never alone. BRAG worked because it had many first-voice
people involved.
Today, that kind of involvement is gone. Many first-voice people are tired, discouraged, struggling with mental health challenges, or simply too overwhelmed. The people who participated in the past have lost interest, and I can’t get new people behind me to help rebuild what needs to be rebuilt.
And yes, that is heartbreaking.
Why It Hurts That BRAG No Longer Exists
BRAG’s #1 purpose was fighting for a better Income Assistance system—including pushing for much-needed increases in rates.
BRAG spent years monitoring the ESIA
Transformation:
https://nsadvocate.org/tag/welfare-transformation/
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/ESIA%20Transformation
But here’s the reality: when the Tim Houston Government came to power in 2021, all the unfinished business from the previous Liberal government was simply left behind.
Some examples:
1. Special Diet Allowances
The system is still the same broken process it was when people
first started losing their Special Diet Allowances back in
2013:
https://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/op-ed-why-arent-politicians-listening-people-livin/33989.html
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/special%20diet%20allowance
People still can’t access the special diets they need to stay healthy.
2. Cohabitation Policies
These policies continue harming people on Income
Assistance—especially those who want to live with a
partner:
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/cohabitation-and-social-assistance.html
https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/2022/05/part-ii-cohabitation-and-618-of-esia.html
3. Stigma and Misunderstandings About “Welfare”
BRAG fought hard to end the stigma that shapes public opinion and policy decisions.
4. Annual Reviews
BRAG also pushed to eliminate the stressful annual reviews that
still cause major anxiety for recipients
today:
https://nsadvocate.org/2018/07/12/why-talk-when-nobody-listens-benefit-reform-action-group-halts-discussions-with-community-services/
https://nsadvocate.org/2019/03/06/kendall-worth-consider-bringing-an-advocate-to-your-annual-review/
It is now 2025, and people still attend these reviews terrified of having their already-minimal supports cut.
And these are only some examples.
What First-Voice People Are Saying Now
From conversations with first-voice community members, it’s clear that if we are ever going to rebuild BRAG—or create a new Union of People Living in Poverty—it will require paid positions for those involved.
People are dealing with:
mental health struggles
chronic stress
the daily exhaustion of poverty
fear of consequences for speaking out
Without proper support, they are too scared to come forward, even though they desperately want change.
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