Bella DePaulo, writing in Psychology Today, is calling attention to a group of people who are largely excluded from social assistance programs in Canada and the United States: single adults who are under the age of 65. There are an awful lot of people in this category, and some are suffering completely unnoticed either by social services or by those who might advocate on their behalf.
DePaulo laments that the focus of social supports is devoted to working families. She argues that single people are overlooked. She refers to a Canadian report which discusses the levels of social assistance provided to single people in Toronto. At present, a single person can receive up to $733(CDN)/month in a city where the Low Income Measure (which calculates the amount needed to pay for basic needs) is $1,960(CDN). By comparison, families are doing a little better.1
In the United States, DePaulo reports similar results following her informal survey of three groups that advocate for single adults. DePaulo hopes that raising the issue will contribute to more systematic research. Read more in Psychology Today: The Single People Least Likely to Get the Help They Need
The United For ALICE reports also bear out DePaulo’s concerns. ALICE (which stands for Asset Limited, Low Income, Employed) compares wages with living costs across the United States. Unlike the Toronto study, ALICE focuses on people who are working. The most recent report (2018) states that 40% of one-person households in the United States earn less than the amount they need to pay for their basic needs. This translates to 22,545,000 people. Read more about this at the ALICE Research Center: Research Center • National Overview
Even though single people are overlooked and often excluded from assistance, it doesn’t make their situation any less real. To return to the Toronto example, the average rent for a bachelor unit is $1,142(CDN)/month — getting on for twice the amount a single person who receives social assistance is given to cover ALL of their costs. It is no wonder that so many people are experiencing homelessness. Hopefully DePaulo’s article will open the door for more support to people who are single.
