Homeless man now hopeless thanks to support cutback
By Lethbridge Herald on May 29, 2024.
Editor:
I am doing some work with the homeless right now, and I have somebody who is on income support getting $580 a month to live on for the entire month.
The maintenance enforcement program just got hold of him, and said that they were going to take away his Class One driver’s license if he didn’t pay them at least $200 a month.
He is dealing with mental health issues and is getting counselling for that in hopes of putting his life back together, and part of that would be a job that he is familiar with like trucking.
It is beyond my comprehension that such a cruel, heartless program would be put in place – instead of allowing him to supply the support, once he was back on his feet. $580 is certainly not enough to live on but cutting that back to $380 is cruel and bizarre. Legislation needs to be changed. A license is needed to support most jobs, and threatening to take it away under these circumstances should never happen. The man’s head is barely above water and this maintenance enforcement program is cutting it right off.
He is hopeless now. Every time he tried to argue with her she started threatening him, leaving him no option other than to agree with them taking $200 right off the top. How can this be allowed?
Jill Skriver
Lethbridge
9-8
Part of the overbearing bureaucracy we live in. Fees and enforcement programs and taxes.
Nothing new in this case . . . I know of similar cases 30 years ago, one almost exactly the same, only in that case all the child support was being blown in the bars by the mother, instead of paying bills and buying food and clothing for the kids . . . it is worse if you are the male who is paying, than if you are female who has to pay . . . sexism is alive and well still in these manners!
When my kids were living with me and my ex was off doing her own thing I didn’t get child support for them, and I was in university! The system was a joke then and a joke now!
It is why some just give up completely and disappear onto the streets or take a fatal dose of opioids!
How does one even live on $580 a month today without living in a tent for one thing?
It blows my mind how they think taking away such a vital license needed for most jobs, does anything but defeats those individuals who are truly trying. You are so right about the hopelessness they feel. This is just wrong and $580 to live on?
Did I just fall into an alternative universe here? Old School, Ewing and Jill Skriver showing a concern for social justice? Dare I say, “I agree” ?
As usual the condescending twit shows up with nothing of value to add other than to disparage the writer. Zero to add on the topic. Reminds me of a snotty 7 year old. Grow up Sophie.
So negative, bucky. C’mon and join us SJWs. Together, we can help make the world a better place.
i don’t know, sophie. the odd failure of the great system that is capitalism, such as this, should not discolour what so many defend as “not perfect, but it is the best there is.” perhaps this guy, and others like him, should get treatment, go and redefine themselves via training or school, and get better at grabbing more than their fair share. indeed, grabbing more than one needs is the hallmark of success in the “best” economic system in the universe…some might call that “greed”, but they are just weak, lazy, envy riddled bums. and those of us that favour this “best there is” system don’t like govt taxing away my piles of loot to give over to those that aren’t as good at greed.
It’s good that you keep us grounded, biff. Certainly those who fail in greed should be incentivized through suffering.
you have nailed the issue, and with few words.
A Troll is a term for a person, usually anonymous, who deliberately starts an argument or posts inflammatory or aggressive comments with the aim of provoking either an individual or a group into reacting.
Sites such as Facebook, online forums, blogging sites and newspapers comments have all become a platform and a stage to bombard people with insults, provocations and insulting threatening language. Trolling takes place where others can see the comments made. If you receive abusive, aggressive or mean messages privately, that isn’t trolling – that’s bullying.
Trolls go to great lengths in making their messages as hurtful as they can so that the recipient of the messages that are concerned and afraid. Trolls feed on attention and what they do ranges from clever pranks to constant harassment to violent threats. The difficulty is that most of the people who troll online send the messages anonymously and therefore makes it difficult to identify who the sender is. Trolls are ruining the Internet.
Many trolls often target high profile individuals with a large social media following in order to provoke reactions from their fans and followers.
Why do people Troll?
There are many reasons why people might troll online and it’s different from one troll to the next.
Most people troll others for either revenge, for attention seeking, for boredom and simply for personal amusement. For some, they could be hitting out at people who are successful, happy, and enjoying their life because maybe the troll’s life isn’t like that. Others may troll because they’re insecure in themselves and they get a buzz out of being hurtful and negative towards someone else.
Consequences of Trolling
Many people believe anonymity is a protection against the hatred they spill online, but this is not necessarily the case. We all have a Digital Footprint and people have been excluded from education establishments, lost their jobs, their friends and have event been sent to prison for sending abuse online. Not only is it an awful thing to do, something that can destroy a person’s life, a person who engages in this type of online behaviour is risking their own future.
Snowflake: “a derogatory slang term for a person with an inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or are easily offended and unable to deal with opposing opinions.”
I find a lot of authoritarian personalities and neo-fascists fall into this category.
Any thoughts?