Basics For Health Society

A conversation from last fall with a good overview of Basic Income and its relevance during the pandemic. https://www.cbc.ca//year-k-a-canadian-guaranteed-income-1.

So, rental subsidy update. I just had a meeting with my co-op and the property management company about the 30% increase in rent and it turns out it is WORSE th...an that. Aaaarrrrrggggghhhh!!! My rent used to be $321 a month and nothing taken from the income I am allowed to make above disability. Now my rent is $375 (my entire shelter portion) plus 30% of all income, including the volunteer supplement I get monthly from the ministry plus they are no longer covering my utilities so I have an additional $55 per month. So, instead of $321 per month, I am now being charged $405 a month in rent plus $55 in utilities for a total of $460 (a $139 increase or 43% increase). Plus 30% on any income I make. Why has the federal government decided to change to this subsidy program from the previous one? Because they want to "level the playing field" They say it is more fair because it brings people on disability subsidy closer to what those on minimum wage subsidy get. Except, if the previous two programs were vastly different, you actually create inequity by raising one to the other, further oppressing already marginalized people in poverty by increasing their costs substantially. Utter and total BS! This is what it is like to live in poverty. They talk of leveling the playing field and instead of better supporting people on minimum wage or those on disability, they create a huge inequity by raising the rates by an infuriating amount. There are people who are barely surviving on what they previously paid, who will now have increases on both their monthly rent/utilities and their income. Oh, and even though we weren't told about this until October, they are retroactively putting our rent up for the previous three months. This is oppression at work, cloaked in a "level playing field". And, unfortunately, the people most impacted will have the least ability to fight it because of mental health, energy, time, health, etc. You better believe I will be fighting this! I am already exhausted (it's taken 7 weeks just to get this far) and it has seriously impacted my mental health and I HAVE a cushion of saving - I can't imagine how this is affecting those without that cushion.

Heather McCain spot on the layers of oppression affecting people living in poverty: When someone in poverty gets ahead, even a little, it will inevitably screw them. I received CERB this year and that was more money than I’ve seen in my 20+ years of being on disability. But, my co-op has entered into a new subsidy agreement and it looks like they will be able to either retroactively charge me for the CERB or price my rent for next year based on what I made this year (even th...ough I won’t be earning CERB). This oppressive model is exhausting. I am a professional advocate and it does my head in and makes me want to scream. I am trying to get it sorted, not just for me but for all those who don’t have the resources (time, energy, connections) to figure it out then fight it. As it stands now, my rent has been raised by 10% and it looks like the new calculations could make me nearly pay market (more than double my current rent). Can you really say someone is on subsidy if you’re charging market? I think not. I hope I’m monumentally wrong about this but even if I am, it’s not entirely a relief because the amount of hoops I’ve already been forced to jump (it's been six weeks so far) to get to this point has completely depleted me - and I still have a lot of hoops to go to confirm what’s going on. I have privilege as a person who lives in poverty. I have savings. I have family. I think of what this is doing to me and it breaks my heart to think of what this is doing to others without means or support. What mental health toll is this too difficult to figure out subsidy structure is wreaking on poor people? This is why those most impacted must be involved at all levels. Because the government just creates the obstacles, we’re the ones that have to run the race. And this could be done better. It doesn’t have to be this hard. And it shouldn’t demand this mental health toll. Not for housing or any other vital service that those in need depend on. *In case you were wondering why there isn’t a cap for rent increases, it’s because as someone in a co-op, I’m considered an owner so I have no rent protection. Nice little loophole eh * (Image: Brick wall with a white circle and black text that reads bang head here.)

A great article by inspiring pediatricians calling for attention on the rights of children and youth in the pandemic and what we can do when we are working with families.

Thanks The Tyee for reporting on our call for a BC kids pandemic recovery task force: "In collaboration with First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition and University of British Columbia researchers in child epigenetics and pediatrics, the Basics for Health Society crafted an open letter calling on Premier John Horgan and eight cabinet ministers to create a BC Children’s Safety and Wellness Task Force. It would be charged with supporting an evidence-based, equity-oriented strategy for children’s wellness in the pandemic recovery." https://thetyee.ca///BC-Urged-Respond-Pandemic-Kid-Crisis/

About our letter to government requesting an urgent task force for kids wellness. We are worried about the kids and this is an important opportunity to build equity and resilience for kids and their families in BC. https://vancouversun.com//dont-forget-about-kids-an-open-l

This week over 200 organizations, child advocates, doctors, researchers & health professionals asked the government for a task force for children and youth wellness in the pandemic recovery. The impacts of the pandemic on kids are significant and unequal, and we don't want any more kids to fall through the cracks. Hear Dr. Chris Loock, developmental pediatrician and lead of an awesome social pediatrics initiative in Vancouver, talk about the letter on the Early Edition: https://www.cbc.ca//15782630-doctors-in-b.c.-looking-for-a

Calling for action for kids in the #covid19bc recovery: http://basicsforhealthsociety.ca/advocacy Sign our letter & join >200 organizations, researchers, doctors & health care professionals asking @jjhorgan for a task force to support resilience & prevent more kids from falling through the cracks. #bcpoli @FirstCallBC... https://twitter.com/BasicsforHe/status/1273711710033985536