REXDALE COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINIC: 2013 Annual General Meeting

Thanks to everyone who attended our Annual General Meeting, including our community partners Albion Neighbourhood Services, Rexdale Women’s Centre, Rexdale Community Health Centre, Somali Business Development Centre, Dejinta Beesha, Rexdale Community Hub, our staff, students, and volunteers, our board of directors, and our community!

We also appreciate and would like to acknowledge the presence of Legal Aid Ontario including Professor John McCamus, Chair of the Board of Directors , Vicki Moretti, Vice President GTA Region,  Cynthia Harper, Director of Poverty Law Services, Catherine Sutherland, Poverty Law Coordinator, and Jayne Mallin, Senior Counsel and Special Advisor to the GTA Clinic Transformation Project.

We also want to extend our gratitude to The Honorable Ted McMeekin, Minister of Community & Social Services, for providing insights into recent changes to OW and ODSP, as well as Ontario’s poverty reduction strategy.

Special thanks to the Broken Silence Dance Crew for providing entertainment!

Our Annual Report is now available online:

http://www.rexdalecommunitylegalclinic.ca/Annual_Report.pdf

REXDALE CLC – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – PRESS/MEDIA INVITE

REXDALE COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINIC – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

September 18^th, 2013

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 18^th, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. at the Rexdale Community Hub at 21 Panorama Court, Main Floor, South Meeting Room.

We are pleased to welcome the Honorable Ted McMeekin, Minister of Community & Social Services.

Changes have been made to the Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Programs which came into effect this September. The Minister will address these changes as well as the proposals for the province’s next stage of Poverty Reduction Strategy.

The Minister will be speaking at 6:30 p.m.

Residents, community partners, and stakeholders will be in attendance along with the Clinic’s board and employees. Refreshments and Entertainment will follow.

Notes To Editors

You are invited to send a photographer/reporter/camera crew to the Rexdale Community Legal Clinic’s Annual General Meeting.

Date: September 18^th, 2013

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Rexdale Community Hub, 21 Panorama Court, Toronto, ON M9C 4E3, Main Floor, South Meeting Room

Please contact our Office Manager Ann Schweighofer for further information

REXDALE COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINIC

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http://www.rexdalecommunitylegalclinic.ca

Income Maintenance (OW and ODSP)

RCLC – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

CHANGES TO ONTARIO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Toronto’s Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF) Replaces Community Start up & Maintenance Benefit

As of January 1, 2013, the provincial government ended the CSUMB (Community
Start Up and Maintenance Benefit). While the benefits provided through HSF are
not contained in law (and hence not enforceable / appealable the way CSUMB was),
Toronto’s benefits are comparable in other ways. Some of the old criteria to qualify
still apply. That is, you must provide proof of your need up to the maximum allowed
and demonstrate financial sustainability (eg. if rental arrears are paid off, can you afford
the monthly rent). But the previous requirement that someone must not have received
CSUMB in the last 24 months has been dropped. In the case of ODSP recipients, total
income and assets will also be taken into account when assessing eligibility.

Toronto’s HSF is available to those on OW and ODSP to assist with:
• housing start up costs (first and last month’s rent);
• rental arrears to maintain affordable housing;
• a benefit for furniture / household furnishings;
• assistance with utilities arrears or start up;
• assistance to those who are transitioning from homelessness or a long term
residence or prison.
The maximum allocations for arrears, last month’s rent, furnishings are as follows:
• $800 for singles / couples;
• $1,000 for families with adult dependants;
• $1,500 for families with children.

There is some room for discretion to be exercised by workers based on ‘hardship’.
Someone on ODSP must be referred by their ODSP worker to OW for assistance from
the HSF, while a person on OW simply needs to raise the issue with their worker.
While a negative decision can’t be appealed to the Social Benefits Tribunal, if someone
disagrees with a negative decision, it can be reviewed by the supervisor. A negative
decision by the supervisor will be reviewed by the local office manager, but the decision
of the manager is final.

Excerpt from article by
Melodie Mayson
Co-Director
Neighbourhood Legal Services