Rating: NNNNN
Councillor Joe Mihevc Councillor Joe Mihevc
Monday, September 23
For one week we have exactly $68.75. We’re hoping to try to do only two loads of laundry ($4). We’ve disconnected the cable, and baking bread will help stretch our food budget. But we’ll use almost half of our transportation budget the first day. Krista surprises us with a note from school requesting $9 for school supplies.
Tuesday, September 24
Supper for me is made of freebie leftovers (cookies and cheese) from a meeting at City Hall. Transportation costs are a real killer. They’re eating into our food budget. I now know why some people on welfare get thin — they are not eating. I also know why some people on welfare get fat — they are eating poorly.
Wednesday, September 25
Rosalee has neither picked up, nor dropped off our laundry at the neighbourhood cleaners this week. Rosalee is frustrated by the cost and the time it takes to go via TTC. She was late for some appointments today. If it is true that one could lose their welfare benefit if one were not a volunteer in good standing, then Rosalee would be in jeopardy after a day like today.
Another curve is thrown at us. Rosalee has a minor medical emergency, which would become major if not treated. I wonder how tough it must be for folks who are more or less alone in the city and do not have social supports. I’ve lost a couple of pounds.
Thursday, September 26
It is becoming clear that, as much as we try, we are not going to make it. We have tried hard to shield our children from the exercise. We wonder how isolating and devastating it must be for parents who simply do not have the money to offer their children extra-curricular activities. And we wonder how those children respond to classmates when they talk about their out of school activities.
It could be a movie night, but the girls and Rosalee are too tired to walk to the library to get a free movie.
Friday, September 27
Our best laid plans went to pot by yesterday and we are now in crisis management mode. We tried to think of every trick in the book to make it through the day. And we began to ask “Is this cheating?” more often throughout the day.
Saturday, September 28
Eating poorly over a longer period can give you a real headache, makes you need more sleep, and slows your pace down quite a bit.
I can understand how certain social problems, like stealing and violence in schools, can increase dramatically. Appropriate social behaviour looks very different when the struggle is for the next meal. I had to have a haircut and beard trim. The $20 it costs blows the budget.
Sunday, September 29
One day to go. Success on welfare depends a lot on one’s wider social and familial safety net. We have done no ‘shopping’ this week, other than food — no clothes, special treats like ice cream or books. A welfare budget is painful.
Monday, September 30
This week was an “adventure” for us.
Councillor Olivia Chow Councillor Olivia Chow
Monday, September 23
Immediately after the kick-off of Walking In The Shoes Of Welfare, I cheat. I go into the Christian Resource Centre’s basement soup kitchen for lunch. I need something solid. Since I can’t tolerate dairy products, I can’t eat the macaroni and cheese that’s being offered. I settle for some peas and eggs and drink half a cup of weak tea.
By mid-afternoon I’m hungry and grumpy. A council colleague gives me a bag of chips at 5 pm. I eat some beans and rice. What about the cat? Where am I going to find money to feed her?
Tuesday, September 24
I wake up hungry. I cook up some rice, beans and tofu to take for lunch, but I end up eating half of it before packing it for work. The Tent City residents are being evicted and I spend all day trying to find some shelter for them while working and dying for a cup of coffee. I am very grateful for a baloney sandwich offered by volunteers at the Tent City site, but I feel humiliated.
Wednesday, September 25
I desperately need a haircut, but I have no money. I cut it myself. It looks terrible. I figure that if I calculate the cost of the makeup I wear, the entire week’s budget would have been blown on the first day. I’ve cheated enough. I come home early so I can eat, then head off to the Barenaked Ladies concert for my partner, Jack. I sneak backstage so I can access the Ladies’ food.
Thursday, September 26
I go to two events where there are finger foods and hover around the food tables. I notice two other people who I think live below the poverty line doing the same. It is amazing how many potato chips one can eat when one is hungry.
Friday, September 27
I spend the last of my $3.55 shopping in Chinatown. I get enough food for about three meals. Rice noodles, bean spouts, one small cucumber, tofu, chives and two small bok choi. I get a free lunch from Adam Vaughan of Citytv. I’m careful to save the leftovers.
Later, I line up to get into the gala after Planet In Focus, the Toronto International Environmental Film Festival. I get stopped at the door because I don’t realize it costs $7 to get in. I’m at a loss. Finally I gather enough courage to ask someone in the line to lend me $7.
Saturday, September 28
I go to two community fairs in the neighbourhood. I’m totally tempted by corn on the cob and coffee, but I have no money left. The president of the Annex Residents Association buys me a coffee and a brownie. The first sweet I’ve had this week.
In the evening I go to a banquet (good thing I already have clothes!) and get into an argument. Why can’t people understand the government saves $5,000 a year per family when moms can go to work because their kids are in subsidized child care?
Sunday, September 29
I finish the rice noodles in the morning. I go to Adam’s place for dinner with other people who are also on the welfare diet. We pool our last bits of food together and have a nice meal. I don’t have anything to bring. We dream of ways to create more affordable housing. The cold that has threatened the entire week finally arrives.
