Halifax is in the worst housing crisis in 20 years. If you call up any housing program or shelter, you are put on a list. A certain company bought a lot of low-income buildings with the promise to keep rents affordable, only to dishonour that and have even mothers having to leave and there is absolutely nowhere to go!
Like CB said in "
HRM needs rent control," the $535 rent/lights allowance that is given out by Income Assistance used to make you live in infested buildings because the landlords knew we couldn't afford to move. Income Assistance is provided to people who can't work due to physical/medical/mental health problems. Believe me when I say it's not easy to receive that help. Many letters, medical forms and sleepless nights hoping to have your medication covered, only to have to use it to supplement the extra rent you need to pay. Can anyone out there find an apartment for $535 lights included?!?! By the way, that amount has not increased in over 20 years.
The people who drive by the "bums" begging for extra change should be extremely grateful they are going to a roof over their heads, with food and without being bitten all night by bed bugs!!!! No human should have to live in these environments but here we are, and not one paper thinks this crisis and these humans are worth the front page.
Here is my thought: Why don't the people on the committee that decides what we are allowed live off, try living off it themselves for one month. Walk away from your nice home with your clean bed and the food you can sit down and eat without having a cockroach lurking by, and go pick up your check. Of course you will need to find housing with your $535, and cover damage deposit plus moving expenses plus hook-up fee for lights, etc. Then live off of what's left.
One month is all I ask. For anyone who understands/lives like me—Chronic Bronchitis and the hundreds more—let's push for this challenge. No one will listen to us. We need the evening news and newspapers to put this out there!!!! Cause we are here embarrassed, with low self-worth and have given up, so we stay in our shell. Well, that's if we even have one!!!!!!
—Welfare Bum