By Kendall Worth
As the Thanksgiving weekend approaches this year , 2026, there is a lot on the minds of the community who I advocate for through my BLOG.
This year Thanksgiving weekend comes at a time when:
The Homeless population in Nova Scotia remains unacceptability high due to lack of affordable housing in Nova Scotia.
The Standard House Hold Rate on Income Assistance remains at $1022 or less, depending on the client’s individual circumstances.
As this post noted, people are downsizing expectations due to fear of, or actually losing their job, or the possibility of losing it soon, due to government cuts in the spring legislative session.
Thanksgiving comes at a time when inflation (meaning higher food costs, Etc) continues to be an issue that affects people financially and mentally.
For people in need, Souls Harbour is going to be the only community organization potentially hosting a community Thanksgiving meal this year.
That list is just a few examples of why we have reason not to be Thankful this Thanksgiving.
I was recently in touch with Emma, who I previously reported on in this post. To recap her Story in general terms, she t talked about Natal Day Weekend in that post. However , in follow up conversation, she filled me in on how other holidays work for her. She told me how if it was not for her Therapy Dog, she has no idea how she would get through any of the holidays. Reading her story (in the link provided above), you will see that what she gets $1707 to live on each month, which to some people sounds like enough. However, if you read the details of her story in the link, you will note I provided a break down of her situation. In her situation, after rent and bills are paid, she has $686 left over. You can see many of these stories and how the income and expenses do not balance at: https://worthmatters.blogspot.com/search/label/first%20voice
In addition, to having to use her $686.00 for groceries, personal hygiene products, and for cab rides twice a month to get to appointments which are not located on a Metro transit bus route, she also has to pay for the costs for her dog out of that money. She needs the dog to hep her loneliness.
Emma points out that even if she did have friends or family members who she could invite over to her place for Thanksgiving Dinner, she would not be able to afford to buy food to provide a meal for everyone.
In our recent conversation she talked to me about she misses the days when she did have friends and family members, to spend holidays, like thanksgiving, with. Now she spends those holidays alone watching movies from the library with her therapy dog beside her. Companionship animals are not service dogs and, although they can be life saving, are not covered bt income assistance, so she gets no support for her dog.
Emma has tried going to the Souls Harbour Holidays Dinners in the past, but she stopped going as pointed out in this post, because se was forced to share a table with strangersand felt her boundaries were not respected when she was at Soul’s Harbour.
I am not going to go further as in talking about Emma’s Story. At this point I want to elaborate on something in this story. I I want to elaborate on this post and explain more about it. If the Social Prescribing Organization I am advocating for, ever gets up and running here in Halifax. Please check Here for endless details on Social Prescribing in Generial. See here for all the details Specially on the Organization I am advocating for.
Emma is not alone. Many, maybe most, First Voice people have no choice but to spend holidays alone. IN Emma’s case, she also has her dog for company. I propose, for Emma and for others who are in this situation, if such an organization existed could attend holiday gatherings, with people they at first have the opportunity to get to know, not having the feeling of sitting with strangers.
Emma is just one example of many First Voice who will be affected this coming Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what we do have… being alone and living in poverty is nothing to be thankful for. Let alone the fact that this year celebrating Thanksgiving is going to be expansive for housed people living in poverty. We also have to think about the large homeless population this Thanksgiving. Being homeless is nothing to be thankful for. Lack of affordable housing is nothing to be thankful for. We also need to think about how mental health services and supports are not available on Thanksgiving, or any holiday. However we cannot paint every Income Assistance Recipient with the brush of loneliness on holidays, because some (but only a few) do get invites to join a friend or family member.
I want to end this post by pointing out one other factor relating to Thanksgiving -- the cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Some readers I have spoken to recently, brought to my attention, that despite inflation driving the cost of food and fixings for Thanksgiving dinner more expensive, some of the readers tell me that over the last couple of years they have found creative ways to cut the cost of making that holiday dinner at home. Examples include: using vegetables they grew themselves in a Garden to cut costs, .finding sales (I was told that a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, turkeys might be $5.00 a pound, but the week before Thanksgiving they often go on sale from $1.00 and $2.00 a pound, and so do all the :”fixings”. So, this year some people told me they will wait until a couple of days before Thanksgiving to buy their Turkey in case they go on sale again.
Lets celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays 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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