Letters to LIFE
from new members Jan. 2008

ONTARIO: Hi LIFE people I am writing on behalf of LIFT -Low Income Families Together, to ask if we can join as an organization who fully supports the GLI as a strategy for implementing the full range of Universal human rights without destroying the planet....We are all people living on fixed or low incomes, who work for economic justice as much we can according to our energy and abilities. Re GLI strategies-LIFT would also advocate that people could pool their GLI's to help build and maintain ecologically and socially sustainable communities or even just be able (finally) to live in extended families of blood or choice. We know it is a long way and a long fight to shift from competition and greed to cooperation and love but we commit to striving for an economy based on the foundation of human rights and respect for the planet as long as we are able and/or not yet extinct.I would recommend looking at Marilyn Waring's work on time for more excellent info on the value of unpaid labour and ideas for valuing time. My take on it is that the whole world lives within the time frame of night and day and making time based demands for the sake of family, health, community and civic engagement could help unite diverse people's and cultures in globally confronting the exploitation and eco-cide of the corporate economy. Bless you all for your really great work...and please do count LIFT in to LIFE!
Without Hope there is no future.... Josephine Grey

ONTARIO: I am a retired government employee and yes, I enjoy the security of a descent - indexed pension. What's worse, is I was there as the Bureaucracy was, in my opinion, co-opted by the power corrupt. Yes, it's my view - the politicians are just window dressing that come and go while the day-to-day dirty business goes on within the bureaucracy. Simplistic? Is it just sour grapes? Personally, I think not - as I realize there are many wonderful people who are trying to come to grips with this reality, and sort out the complicated mess my generation created. I hope you understand why I'm so enthused with you L.I.F.E. - my only hope for my children and grand-kids.
(Jan. 2008)

BC (west coast mainland): I was a single mother on welfare [for several years] and was a welfare advocate and advocate for mother's income. I was please to see Cindy L'Hirondelle's article in the Mother Warriors Voice and to know that someone else was carrying on the fight. I got really burnt out when the NDP sold out poor people with BC Benefits in the '90s. I will never trust them again. I look forward to reading all your wonderful articles and possibly contributing. (Feb. 2008)

BC (Vancouver Island): i'm interested in membership. have been on welfare for over two years in this province, then became part of the "return to work" albeit low paying work plan.

i think this policy forces poor people off welfare and full medical coverage to low paying jobs which run out and then inadequate ei without medical coverage.

i've actually been on welfare before in the province of alberta where a worker actually had the nerve to ask me why i couldn't find work when i had a university degree. that's right had just graduated during the klien revolution, over 45, not to many prospects on the horizons for women at that time but if my memory serves me correctly most of the workers who lost jobs in that purge where health care and education workers (oddly enough most women).

when i gathered enough self-esteem (always stressed in employment classes) i did find work, but on contract..actually a friend gave me a tip.. it really didn't have anything to do with self esteem.

why do i work, because i experience work as less violent and less stressful than my experience of welfare. i have lived in a welfare rooming house in victoria, it was a scary place.

i have cleaned toilets for reduced rent in victoria. not exactly inspiring but necessary if one wants to live on their own. rents were unreasonably high. it took me over 4 years for my name to come up on BC housing.

i remember applying for disability status and i kept missing my appointments because i was depressed (go figure, workers actually got annoyed with me) so i was always slotted back to the make work plan --you may not be able to work today but you may be able to work someday-- (think i was 53 or 54 at that time) anyway after being on anti-depressants for a few years (necessary to deny reality), i actually did get work (out of town).

i just thought i would mention to any woman who thinks this is a solution, yes rents are cheaper up island, transportation and services are limited. however, from my experience   beware of those out of town hires. often, employers don't really want to hire you because they already have a local (this community, emphasis on this) in mind they just need time to give them enough coaching and opportunities for them to be able to seriously challenge your experience. yes women, the jobs really do go to young women right out of college with the least amount of subservience.

older women are expected to use 'Safer' rent subsidies and cash in their cpp before 65, like that will be enough to live off. the reason we are expected to do this is to save welfare money, i was told by a worker that i was expected to access all my resources before applying for welfare (recently). when i told her i really didn't want to take out my cpp because i knew it would be at a reduced level, further punishing poor women, she reminded me what the policies of MEIA [ministry of employment and assistance] are: "the policies of meia support poverty not people".

do i still try to work, inspite of some ongoing health issues, yes. not because i think work is the solution to poverty, but when you are in the war one looks for the least amount of bombs.

i try to work because i experience less violence when i work. i am still poor but i experience less violence. it's true that in the last years (over 50) all my jobs have been temp, on call or whatever and no benefits but i experience less instrusiveness from all members of society and as long as i can make my rent (which has been precarious at times) i can shut my little apartment door to the demands of any systems worker.

so u see my choices are not really choices. i am a woman who grew up in violence, who left a violent relationship, went back to school, believed i would find work (emphasis on being independent not mine but many employment programs). my reality is since 1988 (and much before that) i have lived in poverty, supported a daughter while living in poverty, sometimes on welfare, sometimes on ei [unemployment insurance], sometimes working.

i like to compare my experience on vancouver island to that of an immigrant worker who moves from place to place looking for work. no disrespect meant, i am commenting more on how people sometimes try hard to work and are still poor.

so when i look at that i ask myself did i ever get out of violence or did i just have times when i was not quite so poor? what would a gli mean, it would mean that people would have practical alternatives to violence. (Feb. 2008)