Trying to survive in a broken system can be costly.

 ABOVE: As a result of the government-appointed agency leaving Ryan Lythall helpless, his friends suggest he start a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the caregivers he must have to live on his own.  Recently, I had a big meeting regarding the shortage of caregivers. Over the past two or three months, I’ve

ODSP rates should not be determined according to the whims of the party in power

 by Reuel S. Amdur Since the Ford government announced its budget toward the end of April, the poor and disabled and their advocates have expressed concern about what it will mean for social assistance benefits. There are two programs for social assistance benefits in Ontario, the Ontario Disability Support Program

Changes are required at Ottawa Social Services to better serve recipients

 by Reuel S. Amdur Ottawa Social Services is not doing everything it should to assist recipients of social assistance to get the provincial rate. There are two programs in Ontario, Ontario Works (OW), operated municipally, and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), run provincially. A single person on OW in

Continuing my discussion on ODSP. Their rules need to be changed.

 In my last article, I discussed Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and gave a brief example of how ODSP falls way short of providing enough money to meet people’s needs. Shortly after the article came out, I received messages from people sharing their stories, along with suggestions of other topics

ODSP: A real issue that continues to be ignored

 Last week, as part of the 2021 Fall Economic Statement, Premier Doug Ford announced an increase in the general minimum wage. If approved, the minimum wage would go from $14.35 to $15 an hour starting January 1, 2022. When news first broke out, reactions were mixed. Some were excited and looking

Ottawa needs a poverty reduction strategy

 by Michael Maidment, Chief Executive Officer Ottawa Food Bank Food is arguably the most important item to people. Most obviously, we need to eat to live, to survive, so why is the issue of food missing from the political conversation in Canada? Food is all around us. We work to