ISAC has partnered with the Wellesley Institute to create an online tool to track the impact on individuals across Ontario of the loss of the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB). The tool allows for the collection of information about individuals’ circumstances, what expenses were required, the availability and adequacy of municipal replacement programs, and the outcomes and impacts. A geographic mapping function will show the impacts graphically.
On December 27, 2012, the provincial government announced $42 million in one-time funding for local housing and homelessness initiatives. The announcement says that the money “will assist eligible municipalities as they develop and implement their Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) plans. Funds will be allocated to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Ontarians – including social assistance recipients – to ensure their stability through this period of transition as plans are developed.” The funds will be provided to municipalities for the period January 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. What does this announcement mean?
This page provides links to a number of documents and pieces of information about CSUMB, the transfer of partial CSUMB funding to municipalities, the creation of local housing and homelessness plans, and the struggle to reinstate this benefit within social assistance.
Brighter Prospects, the final report of the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario, was issued October 24, 2012. In this webinar, Jennefer Laidley of the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) provides an understanding of the content of the report and recommendations; an analysis of the impact of the recommendations; the policy and political context surrounding the report; and, thoughts on opportunities for action over the short, medium, and longer term.
Today marks the fourth anniversary of Ontario’s first-ever Poverty Reduction Strategy. The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction has issued its fourth annual progress report on poverty reduction – see below. The report notes that child…
The provincial government’s decision to eliminate the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) will have negative impacts – not only on housing, but also on people’s health. The Wellesley Institute and ISAC – along with ACTO, the AOHC, Street Health, and the Peterborough County-City Health Unit – have partnered to produce a new report, “The Real Cost of Cutting the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit: A Health Equity Impact Assessment.” The report calls on the provincial government to halt the planned elimination of CSUMB and reinstate the $67 million in funding.
TORONTO (Oct 24, 2012) – The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) is urging the provincial government to respond to the report of the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario by immediately engaging with people on social assistance.…
The Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario will issue its final report and recommendations next week. How will we tell if the report passes the test? How will we know if the recommendations…
On Friday, Sept. 28th take 5 minutes to tell your MPP to reverse the cuts to housing benefits for people on OW and ODSP! Every month, thousands of people in Ontario need the Community Start-up and…
The 2012 provincial budget has eliminated two critically important programs for people on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program. The Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit is being cut. The Community Start-up and Maintenance Benefit…
The ODSP Action Coalition has created a lobby kit for advocates to use in meetings with their MPPs on the Social Assistance Review. The Coalition is a provincial group advocating for people with disabilities on ODSP and considers the Social Assistance Review the most important opportunity in decades to improve ODSP so that people with disabilities can live with dignity. Unfortunately, the Coalition is increasingly worried that any restructuring that comes out of the review will be more about reducing the costs of ODSP than improving the lives of people with disabilities.
The 2012 Ontario Budget is deeply disappointing for the nearly 900,000 men, women, and children in Ontario who currently rely on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program for income and other necessary benefits.…