By Kendall Worth
On one hand, the Houston Government has been moving forward its response to the Human Rights Remedy which directed the government to facilitate the transition of disabled Nova Scotians from institutional residences to homes in the community. While acknowledging this important step forward, I have also made the case in my BLOGs that there are many other shortcomings in public policy and programs that mean that the needs of disabled individuals are still not being adequately addressed. (See here and here.)
In today’s BLOG, I return to the topic of supporting persons with disabilities moving out of institutions, - in order to speak to one specific issue that many of these individuals face. This relates to persons who are eligible for this program, and who have a romantic partner waiting for them on the outside, with whom they may wish to move in with once they are discharged from the institution.
Readers will know that social isolation is a running theme in my BLOGs. I write regularly as to how such isolation - from family, friends, loved ones, neighbours and the community at large – is a MAJOR contributing factor to mental health issues in my community. Here is one such BLOG from 2024. There are many others.
I have therefore been advocating for changes to the Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) policy manual to eliminate those policy-based obstacles to cohabitation of people with disabilities as well as people living in poverty more generally. In particular, the clauses that financially punish individuals who want to co-habit for reasons of romantic attachment or simple social connection and financial good sense. (See here and here for further discussion of the problematic nature of Section 6.1.8 of the ESIA Policy Manual.)
Let me be clear: I am not trying to push people into co-habitation. People in our community deserve to have the same choices as everyone else about their lifestyle and living arrangements … whether they prefer to live alone, with family, or with others – in a romantic or platonic relationship, as the case may be. We need to be open to people making their own choices and respecting those choices.
I believe it is wholly inappropriate – and very UNFAIR – for Government to penalize people living in poverty – including persons with disabilities – who would prefer to live together. It makes no sense financially, and it only aggravates the challenges that people in my community face, not just related to social isolation, but also in addressing the daily challenges of paying the bills.
Such challenges will surely be even MORE difficult for people coming out of institutions under this new initiative as they will likely not have an established support network in the community. This must be even more painful for people struggling to build and maintain romantic relationships, which is not easily done in our society at this time. To force such people into residential arrangements that will only increase social isolation seems both cruel and unnecessary.
From what I have heard from First Voices in my community, the same restrictive policies penalizing cohabitation apply to those funded under the Disability Support Program (DSP) as those receiving benefits under ESIA. This will make it almost impossible for individuals leaving institutions under the new initiative to set up domestic arrangements with a romantic partner should they wish to do so.
The funding provided for what ESIA defines as a two-person household is $1,442 - well below what two distinct individuals would receive. (Two individuals would receive $2,044 in basic benefits: two individuals co-habiting receive $1,442 - or over $600 less!) This amount is well below the level of support needed to live a decent life in the current economy.
Yes, there is the possibility (not at all guaranteed) of receiving an additional $216 Accessibility Allowance, but even with that added in, that is far below the poverty line in HRM. When you consider that rents in the local private housing market start at around $1,700 for a basic bachelor apartment, it is clear that this arithmetic just does not work.
An Exciting but Challenging Moment
The opportunity to move out of an institution into a home in the community will hopefully be a transformative moment for many disabled Nova Scotians. It will be an exciting but challenging – and stressful – time. There will surely be many challenges, - emotional, logistical and financial.
Friends, family
and partners will play an important role in supporting the individual to negotiate
their new independent lifestyle. For example, I have written previously about how scheduling all-important medical
visits and day surgeries can become complicated when the patient does not have
access to a support network of friends and family.
We need to recognize that for many individuals, building and maintaining strong social relations will be a key factor in the success or failure of this transition. There will be challenges in building networks of friends as well as negotiating new relationships with professionals such as doctors, psychologists, social workers, etc.
In an ideal world, there would be social prescribing organizations in place to provide help and support to these different processes, as I have been advocating for over many years. An SPO could provide many such support services, including non-professional Friendship Peer Support. But that is not yet an option in Nova Scotia.
The bottom-line is that the proposed Human Rights Remedy can be an important step forward for many disabled Nova Scotians, moving towards a more independent lifestyle in our community. However, this transition will only succeed if people have the financial resources and social network to provide the needed services and supports. It is not reasonable to punish people for setting up a shared household – whether that is for emotional and romantic attachment, - or simply to cope with the realities of life.
Nova Scotia
needs to do better!
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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