By Kendall Worth
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| Food bank useage up 21% |
Calling people Florence and Edward – but, as is my habit, for their protection, not their real names!
The title of this post was actually Florence and Edward's idea. We were discussing the factors connecting social isolation and Income Assistance. We discussed this post, and even deeper understanding in this post. I sometimes overlook the fact that the social situations of each and every income assistance is different from from every other. The details matter.
Florence and Edward are a married couple on Income Assistance. Florence and Edward’s story is based partly on Section 6.1.8 of the Employment Support and Income Assistance policy Manual, which needs to change! In Part#1 Here I included the allowance for a married couple living together on Income Assistance, before recent increases, it was then $1,342 a month. Now, after increases it is $1,473 a month. You can read Part II of that story here. Those posts help explain why both the financial, but also mental health aspects of this policy, needs to change.
For more reporting on Income Assistance and cohabitation – see these posts.
Florence and Edward receive $1,473 from Income assistance - the Standard Household Rate for a couple. Florence is 38 years old and Edward is 40 years old. If they were not married but separate individuals, living in separate places, they could each be receiving the Enhanced Standard Rate of $1005.00 Each. That amount Times 2 = $2010.00. Because the Department of Opportunities and Social Development has not changed section 6.1.8 of the ESIA policy Manual they are losing $537.00 a month. While interviewing them, they both agreed with me that if they could both get the Enhanced Standard House Hold Rate of $1005.00, it would make such a difference especially in this time with inflation a considerable factor.
From ESIA, they get $1473.00 plus $318.00 Disability Supplement (Note they only get that one Disability Supplement amount for the two of them because they are married) then they get a $750.00 rental subsidy for the 2 of them. (Note the same as the Disability Supplement is the $318.00 for the 2 of them). Then they get the $40.00 Telephone Allowance. So in total they get $2581.00 a month!
$2581.00 may sound like a lot of money, but in reality it is not. Their rent is $2500 a month, so they only have $81.00 left after rent is paid. Then $40.00 of that $81.00 goes directly on their phone. Something else about their case is their caseworker does not even want to look at approving them for a Special Diet Allowance even though they have documentation from their Doctor saying they need the Special Diet. The caseworker will not approve them and has denied them the option of appeal through ESIA.
So I asked them the following questions and their answers follow.
Q - So with only having $41.00 left per month to live on after rent and the phone bill is paid, how do you live?
Answer – Well - not one month goes by were we are not going to the Food bank and we use places like Souls Harbour and other soup kitchens, a lot more often then we want to...
Q – Have you ever made any attempt to look for a cheaper apartment?
Answer – Our names have been on the waiting list for Metro Regional Housing Authority since 2018. We got offered our current rent subsidy right after the first COVID Lock Down. Our rent was jacked up to $2500 just before the rent cap was introduced. We used to live in a cheaper apartment but we had to move to our current place in 2018, due to an eviction, but not because of late rent. When we tried to fight the eviction through the Tenancy Board , the landlord won.
Q – Have either of you ever worked in the past or thought about getting a part-time job to supplement your ESIA income?
Answer – Working a part-time job was something we have both dreamed about for a long time, and we have worked at different jobs between 19 when we first became a couple, until when we were in our later 20’s when we first got on Income Assistance. Kendall , as you even brought up yourself in this BLOG here for us us to start trying to live life feeling like we have purpose, the both of us talked to out caseworker about getting accepted into the Career Seek program. The caseworker responded by telling us that Career Seek would not be a good fit for us.
Anyway; Florence and Edward have documented learning disabilities, ADHD and OCD. That plus they experience depression and anxiety day to day. During our interview, Florence brought up that she feels that the system is does not recognize that having a Romantic partner or a Spouse is sometimes what keeps human beings sane. They brought up during the interview that it is with the help of a church they are connected to that they are able to keep their Nova Scotia Power Bill up to date and to get some more help with food beyond what their food-bank gives them. They want to see themselves living a better life, but they are at dead end in figuring out how they can make that happen.
I will end this by saying this current story is just an example of one out of many. Lets keep fighting or a better system of Income Assistance in Nova Scotia.
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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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