Media – Local Radio Stations
You probably have a favourite radio talk show or call-in show that you listen to in your community.
You know, the one on that station that everyone listens to.
The show that tells you about everything that’s going on locally and addresses issues that local people care about.
A radio show like that is a great place to talk about the need for a bold and broad Social Assistance Review.
1) Call that show’s producers and pitch your story
Just like newspaper reporters, talk and call-in show producers are always looking for interesting stories that are topical and timely, that affect people in their local community, and that people can speak to from their own experience.
So phone the producers and tell them that you have a story you would like their show to address.
2) Look for opportunities on radio call-in shows
Poverty and the need to fix social assistance are topical and newsworthy.
The current economic recession, widespread job losses, and problems with Employment Insurance mean that radio call-in shows often focus on these issues, and do so from a local community perspective.
So if you hear these issues on a radio call-in show, call in.
3) Either way, tell them about the need for a bold and broad Social Assistance Review.
Tell them about the provincial government’s commitments to poverty reduction and to a Social Assistance Review.
Tell your story of how OW or ODSP has failed you or stopped you from reaching your full potential.
Tell them what you think a good social assistance system with meaningful supports and opportunities would look like.
And tell them that you think the government should honour the all-party commitment to poverty reduction by insisting that the Social Assistance Review:
- creates opportunities for the voices of low-income people to be heard
- identifies and addresses the most punitive elements of the system immediately
- re-imagines and creates a system for the longer term that moves people out of poverty by offering meaningful and appropriate resources and programs
- starts soon – Ontarians need and are entitled to a social assistance system that really works.
4) If you don’t know which radio stations serve your local community, check these online listings to find out:
