Thursday, July 21, 2016

Gifts & Assets Ontario: Action to Support Disabled Persons Receiving ODSP

Many people are under the assumption that those receiving the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) have all of their immediate needs covered. But this is not the case as the maximum amount an ODSP recipient can access ($1,110 per month) puts ODSP recipients on and/or below the poverty line. 

Consider the following: 


  • In 2014 the average expenditure for housing was $1617 and $675 for food - way below the maximum level an ODSP recipient can receive.

  • Cuts and a failure to keep pace with inflation have meant that ODSP payments have failed to reflect the cost of living. In fact, it would require a 25% increase to the rate a single person receives for ODSP to even be worth what it was in 1994. 

Additionally, there are costs disabled persons incur that are not adequately covered by ODSP. These include: 

  1. Safe and accessible housing.
  2. Adequate and healthy foods.
  3. Adaptive equipments and accessibility needs.
  4. Transportation related costs. 
  5. Fee-for-service disability supports.
  6. Clothing and recreational expenses. 



While we certainly need to raise the rates for ODSP recipients, we also need to do away with outdated regulations that prevent persons on ODSP from receiving gifts and assets. This is a quick fix that the province of Ontario could implement immediately (like BC has done) to better support the economic well being of ODSP recipients.  

How can you help? 

  • Visit the Gifts and Assets website to learn more.
  • Join the coalition for change. 
  • Follow Gifts & Assets on Twitter.
  • Share information about this effort with your networks. 


3 comments:

  1. Would it not be better if everyone joined OCAP or some similar organisation? The gifts and assets idea does literally nothing for many of the most vulnerable on ODSP. The ones who never had a family savings account reach $5000 in the first place, who will never inherit any amount of money, or a house. This reminds me a lot of the comparatively rich kid getting $1000 a month from a trust, and not paying any rent, complaining about not getting approved for ODSP.

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  2. Poverty is absolutely a problem for those receiving ODSP and many of the coalitions partners are working towards addressing this in a number of different ways.

    The proposed change to the gifts and assets limit is specific to two regulations that have been identified as barriers to greater economic inclusion. These regulations would only impact ODSP recipients. Other provinces and states have successfully raised these gift and asset limits in order to support the full and meaningful economic integration of recipients. The result ensures those receiving benefits who do work can earn a fair wage and/or access a pension when they retire etc. These changes do not make ODSP recipients "rich", but rather ensure there are no additional barriers that prevent recipients from receiving the additional support they may require.

    More on what this support looks like can be found on the coalition website: http://gifts-assets.ca/

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