By Kendall Worth
Each and every year around this time, I write what I like to call “ the Christmas Wrap-up”. See here, for the 2023 Christmas warp up post and here for 2024. I like to do this Christmas Wrap-up BLOG once every year, because I always think, at this time of year, about how living in Social Isolation is no fun. This recent post illustrates, over the holiday season, the impact of social isolation and lack of access to mental health services, on the people I advocate for, through my BLOG.
As I repeat, especially for anyone new, here in Nova Scotia the income assistance rates are $1005.00 a month. And as I report on in this post, many income assistance recipients are getting a lot less, depending on the circumstances of each individual case. In this BLOG post I make points about how social isolation can be an issue especially at this time of year. This is one of major reasons why people in my community are grateful that some local organizations host Christmas dinners. It is my estimation (with little evidence) that about 80% of Income Assistance recipients DO NOT have family or friends to spend Christmas with; the lucky 20% may have somewhere to go.
See Below for the 2025 Christmas Dinners
These days it is hard to know what a solution could look like. In the past I wrote a blog titled Jing Jangling Around with Ideas. However, recently, some first voice people tell me that it is hard to know what ideas work these days. They say this especially considering that the homeless population remains at a high level, and out of control inflation is not going away. Also we have to consider, this Christmas, even people with jobs, and who are not on Income Assistance, have to cut back on their Christmas spending this year, even for Christmas dinner, because of higher grocery prices.
Something-else, I learned recently regarding the Christmas holiday season, Apparently, if someone staying at a homeless shelter, but is lucky enough to have the home of a friend or family member to go for the Christmas holiday… Not to move in and live with that family member or friend, But just for the nights of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they can lose their bed.I recently had a conversation with a women whose mother is currently living at a local homeless shelter. This women told me that even though her mom living with her is not an option, she would like to have her mother over just for the nights of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then return her mother to the Shelter on the 26th or the 27th of December. She was told by the shelter staff, that, if her mother does spend the 24th and 25th with her, then the mother will be at at risk of losing her bed when she returns to the shelter on the 26th or the 27th of December. At this time of the year, I believe this is so wrong. The shelter staff argument is that -- we work on a first come first serve basis. If another homeless person shows up needing your bed, and if all the other beds are full, we cannot turn them away. This action of the homeless shelter staff saying they will not hold her bed if she does go to her daughter’s place for Christmas, tells me that the homeless shelter board and rules (or Province) have no Christmas Spirit. This person is lucky enough to have a place to go for Christmas, because many of them staying at shelters have nowhere to go for Christmas.
So lets find solutions and Celebrate Christmas the best way we 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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