Revisited

I think I might start up this blog again. I going to cover some Anti-Poverty issues in the local HRM - Halifax Regional Municipality in NS Canada. I have been out of the game for a bit so I am going to gather some research and see what develops.

So we have just had the biggest baddest storms in recent Halifax history. I cranked all through it, like most about the shoveling, about the cold, about the icy roads. But really through it all I was also reminded that I am damn lucky. I braved that terrible storm in, although small, a warm, safe, lit apartment. I had food and companionship, TV and computer access through the whole thing. Some were not so lucky. I often wonder, especially during the winter...what happens to the poor, the homeless and under/poorly housed. What is it like to not even have to basics, like adequate food and shelter in the cold of winter. Fucking horrible that is what it is like! Why in a country as wealthy as Canada do we have poverty and homelessness at all...we have enough money to house and feed every single person that lives in this country....so why don't we?.....hummmm I wonder

so this is Xmas?

Well it is that time of year again...when we set unrealistic expectations about family closeness, spend more than we have on things we do not need and are deluged with consumerism equates love and happiness propaganda.

I don't hate Xmas, I, like most people in the western world, fall under the warm and fuzzy spell of good will toward men and peace on earth...blah blah blah...you know the tune. But really this time of the year is the hardest on the poor...as Dickens reflects they feel their want more especially in this time of excess. We as a culture try to make ourselves feel better about our indulgences by giving to the poor this time of year. By giving I mean very controlled close ended giving that rips away the power of low income people. We feel good, they feel powerless,dependent and choke down with bitter gratitude that can only come with lose of control.

The wonderful charity minded people give, it makes them feel good...those in need take it because it is necessary. But relying on charity to put food on the table and have a little warmth and comfort around the holidays is a bitter pill. It is hard to let others choose the gifts you will give your children, the food you will feed yourself - you are grateful but it also robs you of your power. If we truly believed that people had a right to these things then begging should not be required - money could be given so families could choose for themselves how they would celebrate - if they choose to...if you do not trust that they will make good decisions you should keep your money.

Truth is not everyone has family or friends, enough food or presents or a warm home or even a small measure of comfort..so be kind, be generous, be nonjudgmental and have a happy holidays...as the world may end on Friday Dec 21...might be a moot point anyway - bah humbug!

Affordable Housing my Ass!

So the NDP are at it again, as part of some mysterious affordable housing strategy they have made some changes to the NS Tenancy Act.

Changes include:
-- automatic lease renewal

I think this was the long hoped for security of tenure clause...however the way it reads sounds like nothing different then what already happens. In the past, unless you have a fixed term lease, if you or the landlord do not give notice the lease rolls over to the next year. There appears to be nothing in the updated act to imply that tenure is achieved...maybe its implied...implied laws are useless.

- improving the process to deal with unpaid rent

This is where it gets scary, with the changes a landlord can evict a tenant for non payment of rent after 15 days this is reduced from 30 days. This will profoundly impact people who receive only one cheque a month, whether that is income assistance or CPP/etc it will be nearly impossible to come up with arrears in between cheques.
This will mean more homelessness, more burden upon community based organizations who will be hit up for resources so people can stayed housed. Not really sure what kind of critical thinking went into that one.

-- a simpler process for rent adjustments in land-lease communities (formerly mobile home parks)

Will that mean it will be easier to increase...sounds like it to me

-- tenants on fixed-term leases can end their leases early, without financial penalty, for health reasons

This already happens

-- be able to award the application fee for those successful in the residential tenancies hearings
Yup this too

Overall, the changes are very one sided in the landlord's favour, some changes like the new arrears to eviction time frame will be devastating to those on monthly income and will increase homeless. So NDP if this is part of your affordable housing stragety....EPIC FAIL!

humm its been a sometime since we talked

Well I haven't written in this for sometime...truth is I have been so discouraged with the anti-poverty movement as of late, I feel like we have been co-opted by professionals. It is a dangerous thing to be poor and an activist...it keeps you under employed, it keeps you poor, it gets you either tokenized or in trouble. Am I bitter, a little.

I had great hope in the NDP government. Finally a government that thinks and believes in equity and justice for people living in poverty like I do, or so I thought. Wow was I wrong. Maybe the reason I feel betrayed is because I expected more. I expected that they would keep all their promises..you the ones they made when they were not yet government. I expected they would make things better for the poor, instead on this anniversary of the declaration of the international day for the eradication of poverty we are worst off then ever before, why, because our hope that we could have an elected government that sides with low-income people was just an illusion. This government sides with big business, and with the owners of this country, and we the low income populus...are not important to them at all, unless it is election times then they are smiles and promises.

I went to a rally and a panel discussion today and the stories I heard are the same ones I have been hearing for the last 20 years...exactly the same. One story today broke my heart, a single Mom of 3 children, living on income assistance and working part-time. She talked about not being able to afford her children's asthma medication and needing to make choices of paying rent, power, food and meds. She told us her story of not being able to get her children into sports or other recreational activity. Her voice trembled as she acknowledge her children were at a disadvantage and would be more likely to be poor because she was poor. How can this still happen, after all our activism, all our advocacy...how can all that work mean nothing, after all this time why haven't we moved forward.

What will it take to make a change? I for sure no longer believe government is the answer. We need to bypass them completely...create our own poverty elimination strategy. Maybe make them obsolete...ah my red is showing again...and I am not talking liberal..

As for me, I will keep moving forward...because there is no going back

gentrification - you jerk is not....

The definition of gen·tri·fi·ca·tion (jĕn'trə-fĭ-kā'shən)
is - The restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people.

It is not - new low-income/modest housing - rental and others
- community based small business
- libraries, community schools and recreation centres
- community based organizations

To the middle class white boy, who had probably only a half a year of intro sociology, stop defacing our community with your damn graffiti - you don't know what you are talking/writing about or you would know better than to trash these places.
Poor people like nice things too, they want to be able to shop and access services in their community, take their kids to clean community spaces, you are not speaking or standing up for us....so knock it off

Hey so I haven't written in awhile.....

The truth is it has been grim, I was sad when HCAP ended and there felt for me no focus in my Anti-Poverty work. I did not fit in with the middle class do gooders, but was also getting a little too old for overtly radical action. Not nimble enough any longer to risk a tussle with the cops at a demo, not fast enough to get away. I have instead been focusing on generating political dialogue, changing opinions through active debate, challenging stereotypes, debunking poverty myths and sharing advocacy strategies. We will see where this takes me, now that I will have a new work schedule and more time to write, I am hoping to get out something at least a reaction piece to the federal budget.....now there should be a good fairytale