Vicious cycle lacks easy solution — DAVE DALE'S SOAPBOXING
Posted By DAVE DALE The Nugget
Updated 5 months ago
Turning Canada's social safety net into a trampoline should be one of our primary goals.
And the only way to make poverty a temporary stopover is to tweak the system to help people who need support benefits to make ends meet so they can pull themselves into a better reality.
Of course, there are some who will always depend on community programs and services, but I'm talking about those who would have a chance to be independent if the system didn't hold them back.
That's one of the reasons the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition is co-ordinating community "social audits" across Ontario.
Hearings were held at the North Bay Public Library over two days this week. There were 40 participants representing disability support recipients, people accessing welfare allowances and the working poor, as well as 20 frontline workers who provide a patchwork of social services.
The local audit was organized by the North Bay and Area Social Planning Council and I dropped by the library boardrooom Thursday morning to hear how things went. The audits have become annual events because it takes a long time to change attitudes and philosophies.
Recommendations are compiled with audits elsewhere and the final product is brought to Queen's Park to fuel legislative consideration.
Reporters were not invited to hear firsthand what participants had to say, partly to give those who came a forum to speak freely and openly without fear of being misrepresented or misconstrued.
Rev. Jim Sinclair was among the council members speaking for the participants and he said social assistance recipients are given shelter allowances that don't cover the cost of renting an apartment and food allowances that fall short of a healthy diet.
And while emergency dental care is covered, preventative checkups and cleanings are out of reach.
The audit was conducted at an interesting time when the district's welfare cases are up 20% over last year and the Northeastern region has the worst unemployment rate in the province.
He said the frontline workers are dealing with people who have never had to put their hat in hand before. The "haves are becoming the have nots" for the first time and they're not used to how the system works.
In the most crude terms possible, for the past few decades or maybe more, people who end up poor are treated poorly. They're stripped of dignity and forced to fit into boxes that are convenient to administrate.
Bonnie Risser is one of the audit volunteers and she's been through the system about three times.
She said it's a real shock for some people to discover they have to sell off their clunker cars and divest themselves of all their assets before getting help to feed their children or pay basic bills.
"It's very intrusive," she said, with social workers forced to review bank records and delve into their private lives to ensure a person has absolutely nothing before they can qualify for help, which makes it even harder to bounce back.
Sinclair said some people end up not buying medication so they can afford rent and food for their children, mostly due to benefits set at levels that don't take into account higher costs of living in certain cities or towns.
And when they get sicker, they become even more dependent.
Risser said people with young children are forced to stay on benefits because they can't get a job without childcare, but they can't get childcare subsidies without a job.
It's a vicious circle and I don't know the magic solution. I've seen people who milk the system and I've seen people struggle against red tape to get out.
But it's encouraging to see the community trying to find solutions and I'm looking forward to the report that will be compiled from the local audit.
I hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears.
Dave Dale's column appears Thursday and Saturday.
He can be contacted at ddale@nugget.ca
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