The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, M.L.A.
Premier of Ontario
Dear Premier,
You may not remember me, but we shared a pair of scissors at the ribbon cutting for Good Shepherd Square here in Hamilton. I was the single mother who spoke to the gathered group about my housing trials and tribulations, and how this is finally what my daughter calls her "forever home."
I have been on ODSP for the entirety of my daughter's life. I have a diagnosis of Psychosis NOS, anxiety and depression. I also have a host of other health-related physical ailments. ODSP has allowed me to live above destitution, but still well below the poverty line. I still access community Food Banks, seek available subsidies, such as monthly bus passes and yearly swimming passes. There are many, many activities I will never be able to afford to participate in, and the same goes for my daughter -- unless I find free versions offered by local agencies.
Housing has been a huge barrier in the last decade for me. I have moved more times than I care to count, for reasons related to black mould, leaks, long overdue unsafe damages, untreated bedbugs, outright lies and theft by my landlords. I have been through the Housing Tribunal to attempt restitution, but never with results that were near worth the effort, so I have often walked away from situations incurring great personal debt.
I attempted to go back to school part-time, but found the balance of raising my child on my own, dealing with unreliable housing and school at the same time just didn't work well for me -- in fact, I suffered great set-backs in my mental health.
Last summer I attempted to go back to work, at a minimum-wage job, 30 hours per week, but again found that it was more than I could handle, and although I had been medication free for a number of years, had to once again begin medication treatment with my psychiatrist. I currently work part time, just 4 hours per week and find that I am able to manage.
Because I have finally found stable housing through the Good Shepherd VAW program, I have begun a Not-For Profit organization, 1inFour.ca with several fellow survivors of Domestic Violence. We aim to give back to the community by empowering survivors to engage in their own healing and get connected with the services available to help. This is a volunteer position, but requires many hours of dedication each week.
When I read that ODSP funds are likely to be cut I feel anxious and a sense of panic begins to arise. I can hardly make ends meet each month. I have no savings left at the end of the month, no matter how much I try -- my daughter is growing by leaps and bounds, and always seems to need new shoes or snow suit or rain boots or a back pack and the list never ends. I try to do nice things, like throw her a birthday party or have a couple of her friends over for a sleepover, but these always tax all my reserves. And her school is always looking for $2 here or $8 there.
I am not a smoker. I do not drink. I do not engage in recreational drug use. There simply wouldn't be any money for any of these activities, if I were so inclined.
I have been to many budgeting classes. I have gone into debt due to poor but necessary credit card choices, and have consolidated loans, but refuse to declare bankruptcy. Before domestic violence, before the financial abuse I suffered at the hand of my ex partner, I had a decent enough credit score that I was able to purchase a brand new car at $0 down and 0% financing. I require a car to drive my daughter to her court-mandated visitations with her father, who lives 2 hours away, otherwise I would simply use the bus locally. I had to do a voluntary repossession of my car due to the financial abuse of my ex. I now drive an older model minivan which often takes excessive funds to repair and maintain. My credit score is terrible after just 2 years of trusting the wrong person.
I have a talk therapist, a psychiatrist, a transitional support worker and many on-going medical appointments I attend. I am not sure where I would fit these in if I tried to go back to work full-time, which I'm sure is why I suffered so extensively when I attempted 30h/wk over the past summer.
My life and the life of my daughter would drastically change for the worse if my funds suddenly decreased by the amount you are suggesting.
I can't even begin to imagine how we would make ends meet. As it is, all of our clothes come from second-hand stores. All of our furniture comes from garage sales or second-hand stores. My daughter is a lover of animals and would have hamsters and lizards and birds and fish if I'd let her, but I cannot justify feeding more than the one cat we have. I do not pay for television -- that is simply a perk I cannot afford. My daughter has a second-hand guitar and her grandmother graciously pays every month for her lessons -- something I could never afford to do.
I frequently watch my bank account reach mere pennies. I play the game of "how long can I drive while the gas gauge light is on." I must constantly network with other poverty-stricken friends, sharing the best insight and tips on where to get connected -- I line up in the rain at Thanksgiving for a Food Box. I line up in the snow at Christmas for a Food Hamper. I am always tucking my pride and my ego behind my ears and putting my hand out for anything I can find. All in the attempts of offering my daughter a better life than I can actually afford to give her.
This is the lived experience of someone on ODSP.
Did you ask anyone on ODSP how they would make it if you cut their funding??
Yours Sincerely,
Cassandra J. Henry
