Comments on: Tell Your Story

By: JK

JK — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:25:21 +0000

I have never before needed social assistance. I share a place with a friend/partner for $1575 a month in the country. I run a business from home because I have a disability that keeps me from being able to handle the 9-5 or most work environments. However, the contract I have started 2 months later than it was supposed to, and my housemate has not been able to work for 8 months.
I went to social services to see if I could get emergency welfare. I was appalled that they offer only $606.00 each month! How can you live on that??? I thought that was how much I was allowed to make before Social Assistance started to cut back on the cheque. I had already sold my car and pawned many precious belongings (what I have left of my parents). However, I am usually able to make a few hundred dollars each month doing some part-time work from home. It is unreliable work, but….. Being self-(un)employed I don’t qualify for EI, despite having paid into it since I was 11 years old (I can now register, but it takes a year to take effect and costs $3000/year. If I had an extra $3000 I would not need social assistance). When I returned from the social assistance office I had some of that part-time work available and ended up making about $600 so I was not eligible for any assistance. I am very well-educated, I have three post-secondary degrees, but even my education and smarts can not help me live on $600 a month. They said I need to find “more affordable housing”. Like what? I live in the country and even a room in a house is $450/month. Then there is the phone bill, car insurance (you can’t live in the country without a car), etc. I realise that they don’t want people to “live” on welfare. But if you need it, and are in a bad place temporarily, the system does not provide you with any means to ever get out of the hole you are in. If every penny is taken off your cheque, where is the incentive to work even part-time? I have paid taxes since I was 11, and have never asked my government for assistance. I even do volunteer work for our government by way of committees. But when I need help for two months what happen? I am forced to the street!!!!!! I feel the pain of you all, and wish you the strength to fight back against the system that has failed us all. With love….

By: daga

daga — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 23:48:47 +0000

Have fun. All they care about is themselves. If you move u must provide them with info to where you are moving to, if u have no documents, statements or anything legal have fun also. People who can work and have barriers, don’t tell them to get jobs on their own. They give u cheap money and cheap dental care and when u wanna work anywhere even for minimum wage they have garbage programs. My worker told me to get a student loan and i told her to go f herself. That’s right you need to fight and be nasty. PS babies cost money. Don’t have any because if you commit fraud or live with your partner or have income and don’t report it they will try to grab u. Some of u have the chance and no challenges to be on this so why u on it. If you have a baby they are right on the money – you’re responsible. They don’t give a f. U all need to frist because if you just have a designed back to work program you’ll be fine. Oh they can drive their fancy cars I heard when people have a gov’t pension, teacher, teacher assistant, anything like that. They are stuck like as once they retire so that might feel good for their worker. Two don’t let someone destroy your life, keep on fighting, because even the ones who want odsp employment support have a hard time. As for rent, moving, always for your safety, have documents stating what you can and can’t afford. They still deny u. Click on legal aid.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 18:57:14 +0000

I have come to the realization that OW will do anything to get you off of their books, and I mean ANYTHING! I only get the max. of $606 per month, which in their delusional minds is supposed to pay for my 9 x 9 room that I rent and food. Of course no one can eat for 30 days on $100, so my son helps by buying some decent food for me eat. When they asked me “How do you afford food?”, I told them that my son pays out of his own pocket to get me a Sobey’s Food Gift Card (not cash!) so I do not die of starvation. They told me “You can’t do that!”. I said “Why not, if it was not for him I would starve.” Their response was “Whatever money your son uses to buy you food will be treated as income, and we will deduct that grocery money he spends on you as income for you and will deduct it from your cheque”. WHAT? I didn’t earn that money, he did, and it is not income that I earned to pay for the food!. How god damn ruthless is that and how low can they go!! So now I am left with two choices: pay my rent and starve, or not pay my rent and not starve. But of course, with no place to live if I want to eat, they will cut me off anyways because I do not have a residence to live in. In other words..”We will starve him out of where he lives, because he can’t have a room over his head and eat too”. So, in the next 28 days, I have to decide to either live on the street and starve to death anyways, on stay in my 9 x 9 room and starve.
How can they stoop so low has to deny my right to food that I didn’t pay for?

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 23:52:09 +0000

I was told that if 2 people have a child and split they cannot live together. But if they are no satin but want to live in the same place but in your own separate apartment with separate entrance is it allowed. It’s a home that’s split into 3 apartments, so like an apartment building. I know you can live right beside or even across from each other as long as you have a separate entrance. Would that be the same for a house?

By: ken zubec

ken zubec — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 15:52:44 +0000

My spouse and I were both on ODSP until I turned 65 Oct/12. We were then put on a basic needs formula to determine extended health care beneftis she as well as I. We’re on the verge of losing the extended health benefits. My spouse is only 53. I might understand my losing the extended health care benefits even though we are both entitled to receive jointly. In desperation we had our doctor fill out a special diet form which ODSP recognized and allowed her $86.00 which because of ODSP basic need formula would extend our extended health care benefits for some time as they take dollar for dollar off my old age pension. To my chagrin I received a notice from old age pension that they were awarding me $83 a month for some sort of gains. This was only a few days after my spouse was awarded the $83 for special diet for hypertension (you would almost think that ODSP knew that would happen) so that now left us with a couple of dollars left in the kitty to enable us to receive extended health benefits. My spouse also has pre-diabetes (and unknown to us that there is an allowance for that). I received confirmation of this from two sources, Kinnaw-a-way Legal Clinic and the Canadian Diabetes Association which informed me that there is a special form available. So once again with the confirmation in written form back to the doctor we went. Our doctor was quite willing to grant us this request providing we provided a special form other than the special diet form (the special diet form does not have a section for pre-diabetes ) but there is supposed to be one available at ODSP. Upon contacting our worker at ODSP she denied any such existence of such a form and she would not make any attempt to inquire receiving such form from ODSP head office or wherever such forms would be kept. Now we (especially my 53 year old spouse) will most certainly lose our ODSP extended health benefits.

By: Bonnie D

Bonnie D — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:42:19 +0000

I’ve been on OW for 4 mths. I am 60 yrs old and unemployed for 3 years. I can’t find work and my alternative was OW. Being defeated I had no choice but to apply. The caseworker made me feel everything would be ok for awhile for me, but that is when the nightmare began. I was told I had to move to a cheaper apt. I lost my credit rating due to being unemployed for so long. How do I get another apt with poor credit? They told me to get someone to share with me so I had my 86 year old mother come to live with me temporarily. Because she was going to help pay 1/2 the rent and buy her own food, after she moved her life around to help me, OW said she had to go on my lease. She refused to be held to a contract because they said so. This was supposed to be temporary. Well, if she didn’t go on my lease they were going to deduct 40% of what she paid from my cheque. They also forced me to collect my CPP early and then deducted the full amount from my cheque. Any tax returns or HST, they wanted or deduct it from my cheque. My brother paid my car insurance because I couldn’t afford it any longer. OW felt this was a gift so they deducted it from my cheque. What went from $606 per month was now down to about $43 per month. How do you live on that? When asked what I was going to do, I commented that I could buy a gun and end it all but then OW would deduct the cost from my cheque. A prisoner is treated better than us. 3 square meals a day (healthy food), shelter and clothing. Better than what I get. Because of my age I can’t even get a minimum wage job, Tim’s or MacDonald’s won’t hire me….why???? I don’t know. I look clean and professional, I have sought after skills, 25 yrs in business, but I have a few wrinkles on my face and they all brand me as too old. First the working sector makes me feel useless then my GOVERNMENT refuses to assist me more so that I can at least feel human. I paid taxes for years but now I guess I’m on the WAY OUT LIST. No further needed. We should scrap the OW system and revamp it. Why do youths need to be on OW. Show them a fabulous future. Place them in training programs free if they live at home, give them the education needed to get out there and work and pay taxes and the OW should take care of the people who really need it and who can benefit the most to get back on their feet. Let the OW and the supplement programs work together. Most of us want to get back on our feet. The caseworkers should be allowed to make concessions for their clients based on what they see and hear from each individual. Different needs for different people. I believe the OW dependency would decline if these were implemented and therefore save our government money in the long run. I feel like an unwanted animal in a shelter waiting to be put down if not adopted in time.

By: irena

irena — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:59:22 +0000

I was widowed August 30 2010 when my now-deceased husband passed away. He was 70. I was 62 at the t1 week to my 62nd birthday. I don’t know if anyone can help me out in this grey area in financials. I have submitted to be forced to live on sololy on the sum $489 and other tax or benefit payouts. I don’t understand how this is as I was a homemaker for the most part and worked minimal years, also my husband was a very avid and extremely hard worker and was only looking out for the future. Why did I get punished like this and atop all, i got the one-time national death benefit payout of $425.00 but it was taken away. I am past due on everything and out of reasonable options. I will be 65 this year but that is not going to be a difference. I can be reached at [information withheld for privacy reasons] if anyone out w/proper advice that lead a path out of this dark path so I can live normal and not sleep and live full-time debt position.

By: Jennefer

Jennefer — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:47:16 +0000

For anyone who has posted here looking for assistance with a problem about OW or ODSP – please contact your local community legal clinic. You can enter your postal code at this website to find your local clinic: http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=cl Note that this is not a discussion board and questions cannot be answered here. Thanks!

By: Cinday Bissell

Cinday Bissell — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:59:37 +0000

My older son is on ODSP and lives with me. I am no longer on the system because of my earnings being too high. I rent apartment through low cost housing and just recently I received notice about my rent increase. My new rent will be as high as $841.00. My son will have to only pay $109.00 of the rent. He knows that he is allowed up to $416.00 for shelter cost. The problem is low cost housing refuses to divide the rent in half. I would like to know what I can do here so my son is sharing half the living cost and how to write a letter to ODSP to ask for more of the shelter cost.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:33:04 +0000

I recently applied for OW and was absolutely shocked with the small amount of money I was given. What they allow for rent is $200 less that what I pay, so basically I have $150 left to pay my bills and eat and clothe myself….that’s impossible. They told me I have to move somewhere so the rent is lower, they don’t help with that. They have Action Housing which guarantees nothing. I am scared to death. Where am I going to live? Will they cut me off if I don’t move? What do I do? Ontario Works is a joke…I am desperate