Here are two key dates to look forward to this Fall:
ISARC Multifaith Forum, working on faith groups' roles
as advocates with government
10:00 - 2:30 on Thursday, October 29, at
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (Bricker & Albert), in Waterloo.
ISARC Religious Leaders' Forum focusing on affordable
housing
9:30 - 3:00 on Thursday, November 5, at
Queen's Park in Toronto – Rooms 228-230.
More information on these events will be available
soon. Check out our web site at www.isarc.ca to keep updated.
The year ahead
This
past year
has been a time to sow important seeds towards the elimination of
poverty and homelessness
in Ontario. ISARC does this with our constituency, many partners and
coalitions. Though the 2009 Ontario budget contained monies to increase
Ontario
Child Benefit and affordable housing, ISARC did not feel it was a
substantial
down payment toward the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy. Yet seeds
have been
planted and nurtured by growing coalitions, on-going dialogue with the
provincial government, the inter-faith prayer vigil, analyses of
poverty
elimination measures, participating in the Poverty Reduction
Legislation that was recently passed, and holding meetings with many
people throughout the province. The
seeds are sprouting.
2009-2010 will
be an important year for ISARC as faith communities along with other coalitions
address the provincial affordable housing strategy and social assistance
review. ISARC plans to go into neighbourhoods and listen to individuals and
families affected by social assistance and homelessness. Plans are developing
to complete a provincial Social Audit in 2010, which will be the result of many
local hearings where faith communities, municipal governments, and persons
living in poverty will be consulted. Lives Still in the Balance (2007)
is still relevant, but ISARC plans to listen again and report our new findings
and recommendations broadly.
Organizing and
local support from our constituency are needed when ISARC holds these hearings.
ISARC also needs financial support for minimal staff and expenses. Much is
being accomplished with a minimal budget – the usual way faith communities
work.
Remember ISARC
in your prayers, planning and finances in the coming year! Feel free to forward
our e-newsletter to friends and co-workers. Keep
Hope Alive! Especially for those who struggle financially.
Do the math. What kind of life can you afford on social assistance?
Poverty in Ontario is at an all time high. As the
economic crisis grows, so does the number of people relying on social
assistance and food banks. Does a single person on social assistance receive
enough income to live with health and dignity? What
kind of life can you afford on social assistance? Do the
Math to find out!
Then contact your MPP and encourage him or her to also Do the Math.
How much do they think it costs to live? How much do they think social
assistance and minimum wage should increase? How would they or their
family survive on social assistance?
Time for a bold review: making social assistance meet the poverty reduction test
On June 23, 2009, the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)
held a forum on the government’s upcoming review of the provincial social
assistance system. This review is part of Ontario’s new Poverty Reduction
Strategy and was restated in the 2009 budget.
Currently
765,000 people rely on Ontario Works (OW) and
the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Thousands of newly
unemployed
Ontarians will soon be forced to turn to these programs. Will they have
to use up all of their assets before they are eligible and then be
without a nest egg as older persons? Will Ontario make OW and ODSP more
accessible so people can more readily get back on their feet
financially?
ISAC’s
Sarah Blackstock introduced the morning session
by stating that Ontario needs a Social Assistance Review that leads to
transformation – so that the programs of support promote dignity and a
poverty-free Ontario. Four panelists then discussed why we need a
Review and how
significant change can take place.
Crystal Chin, a current recipient of ODSP and an
active advocate on the Barrier Free Council at the Ann Johnston Health Station,
spoke of how, when she turned eighteen and became eligible for ODSP, she faced
the reality of the same needs and expenses, without the same level of financial
support she received previously. “How we treat those on ODSP is a reflection
of society’s attitudes”, she concluded.
Angela Robertson, Executive Director of Sistering - A
Woman’s Place, stated that income security programs in Ontario are failing and
that the ODSP and OW rates are below the poverty line. An effective poverty
reduction strategy has to include a meaningful social assistance review. The
challenge is whether there is the political will to do this, because there is
enough evidence and reports already that support the need for substantial
change. From her experience working with women in poverty, she relayed that
health status increases as you move up the income ladder, that women are often
re-victimized by the social support systems because of high staff turn-over and
changing of rules (which discourages building relationships), and that the goals of
assistance programs are often at odds with the goals of recipients because they
cannot be tailored to particular needs. Her suggestions for improvement
include: tying eligibility to human rights, developing a client centred
approach that allows people to leave the system, increasing access points by
increasing language accessibility, and allowing for flexibility in the delivery
of services in terms of hours and portability.
Marion Overholt, Staff Lawyer at Legal Assistance of
Windsor, said that assistance has to be changed so it is no longer a poverty
trap, but a safety net. She suggested three changes to OW that could happen
immediately: we should not strip people of their RRSPs, vehicles, and homes; we need to loosen up the
rules so that people can accept help from family and friends; and, we need to allow people
on OW to have access to education and training so that we do not recycle OW
recipients by disallowing them to transition out through training. Today people
in Ontario are losing their lives to chronic illness due to poverty and
unemployment. If we want justice we have to walk together so no one gets left
behind.
Judy Rebick, well-known social justice activist and holder
of the Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University,
said the problem is not one of policy but of vision. A society must have a
vision that allows every person to become what he or she wants to be. The
punitive poverty policies have to go and people living on the margins have to
have a voice in the process because they know better than anyone else what they
need to get out of poverty.
Mary Marrone of
ISAC concluded the forum by reminding the participants that currently there are
no terms of reference for the government’s Social Assistance Review. When it
begins it must be an open and transparent process; be collaborative and draw on
the expertise of academics, service providers, and people who experience
poverty; and, it must ensure that we make changes that can happen quickly.
ISAC has a new
website www.sareview.ca where people can
share their experience of living on assistance and give their suggestion on how
the system could work better.
ISARC religious leaders' forum - revisited
At our religious leaders’ forum in April,
presentations were given both on how the 2009 budget affects the most marginalized
in Ontario and on the current status and future hopes for the upcoming social
assistance reform. Some of these are now available on our website and also can be read by clicking on their name.
Zaineb Zimmerman, from the Kingston Round
Table on Poverty, and Michael Creek, from Voices on the Street in
Toronto, described how their dignity had been stripped away while on social
assistance.
Marvyn Novick, from Social Planning Network of Ontario
(SNPO), suggested we should focus our energy to increase rates for social
assistance (not only OW and ODSP, but also EI and minimum wage).
Sarah Blackstock,
from Income Security Advocacy
Centre (ISAC), updated ISARC on the upcoming provincial Social
Assistance Review. Little information is available about starting
times, who will be
appointed to the Review Committee, or what topics will be discussed.
Yet this Review is important, especially if the changes include asset
rates, transition
to employment, health and dental benefits, and addresses the amount of
money deducted from
social assistance when a recipient earns money.
ISARC staff changes
As of June 1st,
Bruce Voogd is working for ISARC half time as Coordinator. Many will know Bruce
as the Coordinator of the March interfaith prayer vigil at Queen’s Park. Bruce
is coordinating events, participating in anti-poverty coalitions for
ISARC, and working on funding for the coming year.
Brice Balmer
will continue halftime, with the new title of Director, concentrating on
contacts with faith groups, continuing with the anti-poverty coalitions, and
doing more writing, reflecting on ISARC events and our work together. Because
ISARC is a project of the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Brice will be spending
his other half time teaching, advising students, and working at the seminary.
Brice was on a six-week health leave after surgery in mid-June and is now back
at work. He is recovering well and is thankful that the prostate cancer had
been discovered early.
Murat
Ortanca,
who worked with ISARC from September 2008 through May 2009, will
continue his Doctoral Studies in Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier
University. He has
been in Turkey for a good part of the summer and will be in New York
City for a
month this Fall investigating how faith communities are involved at the
United
Nations.
Change in ISARC contact information
Due to the post
office closing the outlet with our mailbox, our address has changed. Please
change our contact information to:
Interfaith
Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC)
The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) was born out of the hope that together a coalition of faith groups could contribute to new public policies based upon greater justice and dignity for Ontarians marginalized by poverty
