Written by Tim Godfree, Voices Against Poverty Member

$592 single

$1,021 couple

These may look like spa package prices, but they are not.  They are the current social assistance rates. You are probably wondering how anyone could live off $592 a month, the max rate for Ontario Works (OW). If you are lucky enough to find a job, you are no longer eligible for OW’s medical benefits. Some employers will provide additional medical benefits, but many are hiring more part-time employees and providing fewer shifts so they do not have to pay for these benefits. And if you lose this part time job because the company decides to move to another country where the cost of labour is cheaper, your only option is to apply for Employment Insurance (EI). However, seeing that you were not working full time hours you may not qualify for EI because you do not have enough hours to meet the eligibility requirements.

So let’s say you are able to get a general labour position to pay your bills, and then you injure yourself. You now have no other choice but to apply for Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) where the max you can receive a month is $1,053. You might be thinking ‘I could live off of $1,053 a month’, but it is likely that you will never see the max. Your financial situation will become so horrendous that you are going to have to sell off all your assets and eventually move into Geared to Income housing. Your housing will now cost you 30% of your ODSP which will leave you with almost nothing to survive on. This is how the current system contributes to destitution.

My story is similar to the story above. I spend most of my days volunteering my time because I enjoy giving back to my community. It gives me a sense of belonging. When it comes to the money I receive, I sometimes have a hard choice to make: buy food or pay my bills. It cannot be both because I simply do not have the money. I starve most of the time because money runs out quickly. Jobs are a necessity but they are very hard to come by in this economic uncertainty. Quality food takes money I don’t have and the cost of food is constantly increasing. I dread the middle of the month because I must decide which personal belonging I must pawn to make it to the end of the month.

Given the economic and social insecurity that poverty creates, I am constantly amazed by the resiliency of our community. I get my strength for the future knowing this can’t continue. There has to be change. Knowing that I can be the change is the only thing that keeps me going. All it takes is one vote.