By Kendall Worth
I am writing today’s post on June 20th, 2026 and summer starts shortly. Summer 2026 comes at a time when:
The housing market in HRM continues to takes turns for the worse due to high volume of un-affordable housing.
As this BLOG post reports on, Income Assistance recipients whose part-time jobs are seasonal, with summers off, lose roughly $400.00 of their income because EI continues to get clawed back from Income Assistance at 100% Unlike being allowed to keep some income from earnings.
Because we have no Social Prescribing program or organiation, and since there is no assistance for loneliness and social isolation , low income folks have no choice but to attend events like Busker Fest, Jazz Fest, Concerts in the Public Gardens etc., alone, which is no fun. See here for info on that program which is not up and running. Powerful illustration, Especially within the 80% unproven unlucky Income Assistance Recipient, can be found here.
However, Summer 2026 comes with other concerns...
Summer 2026 comes at the time when inflation continues to be factor we have to deal with in our day to day lives. Yes, we did recently receive the one time GST top up, however, the amount provided was only a drop in the bucket for what is needed to cover groceries these days. Then, unrelated to things like the cost of living, another concern on the horizon is community safety on the waterfront this summer.
Recently, I interviewed 4 different income assistance recipients (At their request I will not name them, and when I offered to get them together as a group, they said no to that offer) They said no to a group interview because they are not Interested in becoming friends with other income assistance recipients. So to roughly draft their situation, I came up with the following arithmetic by taking what they said they pay for rent and NS power -- times 4.
Each receives the Standard Household Rate, of $1022.00 per month then they each have a rental subsidy. For all 4, in total subsidy is $571.00 Divided by 4 = on average $142.75 each. On average they pay $796.25 a month for rent. On Average they pay $80.00 a month for Nova Scotia Power. So $796.25 plus $80.00 = On average they pay $876.25 a month for rent and power. I need to mention that only 2 out of these 4 individuals gets the $324.00 disability supplement. They would not disclose whether or not they get the Special needs Telephone allowance nor whether they get the special diet allowance.
Another major concern, this summer, being raised among members of the community I advocate for through my BLOG, is anxiety and fear around safety. In addition to the concerns discussed above, many people especially those living with mental health issues, experience anxiety when deciding whether to attend events on the Halifax Waterfront alone. As reported in this post, the four individuals I recently interviewed explained that when they attend events such as the Halifax Jazz Festival and the Busker Festival, alone, they felt that being by themselves eventually became a safety concern. At the same time, they understood that they had to respect the boundaries of their acquaintances (meaning people they know through standing in line at their Food Banks and people who they see at Soup Kitchens) respecting the fact that are not interested in attending these events with them.
People also say that security needs to improve on the Waterfront. Several individuals whom I advocate for have complained that they have been harassed by troublemakers in ways that caused them to fear for their safety while attending events alone. Some experienced anxiety when Teenagers approached them, on the waterfront, and were worried that they were trying to rob them. All four people I interviewed stated that if this element of the Social Prescribing Organization, already existed, they could envision opportunities to create safety plans for people who want/need to attend events alone. Such supports could help reduce anxiety, increase feelings of safety, and ensure that social isolation does not become a barrier to participating in community life.
If those Non professional peer support workers were already available, the safety plan could include members/clients having the cell phone number of a staff member/peer support worker who they could call. The Non professional peer Support worker going with them for company could be an option as well.
Anyway I am going to end this BLOG post by giving some advice to anyone who is a direct member of the community I advocate for, or, who just sees this post. If you do end up, this summer, going alone to events like Canada Day, Jazz Fest or Busker Fest, I advise you, while on the waterfront , stay as close as possible to areas where there are lots of businesses, so you can approach them, if any trouble makers tries to harass you, or you feel at risk of being robbed. Walk quickly, while walking from part of the waterfront to another part.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kendall
Worth is an award-winning anti-poverty activist who lives with disabilities and
tries to make ends meet on income assistance.
Comments
Post a Comment