The Story of a Bureaucratic Jungle
Thursday, December 31, 2009
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This letter is for all those who believe it is possible to break out of the cycle of poverty by getting a job and leaving the social programs behind.
I was naive enough to believe the same thing once, too. I have a physical disability which requires me to use a wheelchair, but that should not be enough to stop me from working, right?
Wrong.
I got a job in 2007 at a place that was appropriate to my physical limitations. The building was accessible and the task of using a phone and a computer was completely doable. The only issue was that the business was a 24-hour operation.
For 17 months, there was a recognition that it was best to stabilize the time of my shift because if I robbed myself of too much sleep I would have "meltdowns" that would limit my productivity.
The accommodated shift enabled me to schedule things in a way that meant I rarely had to miss work. Other than a few doctor's appointments and a bad reaction to a minor surgical procedure, I was always able to be there.
My supervisor even congratulated me for not having any unsubstantiated absences. This recognition made me feel proud because I believe in being dependable and it was obvious my efforts were being recognized.
Unfortunately for me, in early July my work situation changed completely. My employer decided that my shift could no longer stay the same. The management moved my shift to a new time of 11:15 am - 7:15 pm. Their idea of accommodation was to leave the new shift stable for 6 months.
I tried to negotiate a better time, but they would not agree to change it.
The fly in the ointment is this: the new shift is one that is impossible to manage with my need to rely on the pre-booked services of the Access Bus, attendant care services, nursing services, and the limited ability to access the majority of goods and services in Kingston because of barriers. When the Access Bus strike ended, a major funding contract had been lost, so 5 daytime and 1 nighttime bus had to be taken off the road.
With a severe allergy to perfume that often requires me to get out of the city bus because I can't breathe, I cannot really say I have reliable access to transit to get the basic tasks of everyday living done in a timely fashion anymore.
The realization that I would soon have to be pushing myself even harder to try to keep up with the new shift was too much. Stress got the better of me and I had to go out on sick leave.
But it gets better... Not really. Work rejected the pro-active medical that I got from my doctor in an attempt to prevent having to leave in the first place. Then, when I had to go on leave, I had to get a medical. Shepell FGI, the company handling those who were on long term leave, rejected it.
I had 30 days to appeal. I asked my doctor to fill out my appeal form, and after he had completed the task, I made the mistake of asking him about a few inaccuracies.
They were subjective statements about issues at work that he could not have witnessed. The appeal form he'd filled out was also missing some details that were requested by Shepell FGI and that were required for the appeal. The doctor must have taken my requests badly because he walked out of the room and told me to find another doctor.
In any case, I paid for the appeal, as it was written, and left. I sent it to Shepell FGI. This medical too, was rejected. I was now facing the accusation of job abandonment.
With no treatment to get over the emotional trauma, no doctor, and nowhere to turn, I called ARCH Legal Services for advice. They recommended I resign rather than be fired because, of the two options, resigning was better. They also recommended I consider filing a challenge under human rights.
I was not comfortable with clubbing my employer with a threat of a human rights challenge so I tried to negotiate a solution once more. I wrote a letter to my employer and, once again, asked for a better time for the new shift.
I added a note saying that even though my employer was subjecting me to undue hardship and was morally wrong, legally my place of employment also had a duty to accommodate. My employer refused to accommodate me once again. I finally realized I had been beaten. I sent in my letter of resignation.
What I never expected was the severe financial devastation that would soon follow.
I live in subsidized housing so I reported the sudden loss of income in early August, which is ample time for my rent to be adjusted downwards, but my landlord didn't get around to processing the change on time.
Instead, in September, my landlord took approximately $300.00 too much out of my bank account for rent, using the auto debit feature I opted into using several years ago.
When I asked for it back, they told me it was to be credited back over the next two months. I could not believe it.
This meant the only way I could eat was to use my line of credit to buy groceries. Eating at home would be cheaper than paying $4.50 for a two-way bus trip to Martha's table plus $1.00 for the meal.
Needless to say, when housing sent me its decision about crediting the amount back over two months, I appealed it.
The appeal has been with housing for a month. The last thing I heard was that it has been passed back to the employee who had originally made the mistake. I guess this means they are allowed to investigate themselves.
In the meantime, with E.I. sick benefits not giving me enough to live on, I went to ODSP to apply for rapid reinstatement.
Little did I know that an income eligibility review would determine that I could not even get coverage for Disability Related Disability Related Items, let alone a drug card, dental card, glasses, wheelchair repairs, etc. I could not get this coverage because my source of income was from another level of government and the income did not come from one of the prescriptive sources named in Directive 5.9. Here is a quote from the directive:
Summary of Directive (Source: Directive 5.9)
What makes my predicament even more difficult is I haven't been able to get legal advice, even though I have asked, and I can't get counseling or emotional support because I do not have a diagnosed mental illness. This refusal of services means I am left to sort this mess out on my own.
Without a family doctor, I can't even get medication to stop the panic attacks or the repeated bouts of tearfulness that are caused by the anger. In answer to your unasked question I have to inform you that after hours clinics and the emergency department will not treat people with pre-existing conditions.
The GP that just walked out on me is the second one in 6 months. The first physician suggested I move on because a teaching facility is not set up to deal with the longer-term issues associated with having a disability.
The second doctor apparently can't handle the frustration of someone who desperately wanted to keep her job and was concerned by the contents of the letter of appeal which offered no indication that his patient would get any support whatsoever from the doctor.
When I got the registered letter from my doctor to confirm he has severed our relationship, it said I could call the College of Physicians for help in finding a new one. I did as the doctor requested. The College of Physicians of Ontario gave me the phone number for Health Care Connect and I called them.
Would you believe Health Care Connect said the doctor has not notified it to say he has discharged me? This means that I am unable to access Healthcare Connects' services.
I have three choices. I can wait for the doctor to finish the process of severing our relationship, or call him and tell him to finish all the formalities, or call the Ministry of Health Info line. I can't handle the stress of any of that right now.
When I realized how deep I was into this Catch 22, I wheeled down to the MPP's office after stopping at the Kingston Community Counseling Centre and the Kingston Community Legal Clinic, to ask for their help. I dumped the whole lot onto the office of my MPP.
Most of the issues are outside of their jurisdiction, but the office assistant, Anita said she would make several phone calls to see what she could do to help.
All I can say is thank God. I still can't believe I had to quit my job because of an absolute refusal to accommodate the time of my new shift due to the inflexibility of my disability supports, let alone go through the pain of losing my doctor and not being able to get a new one until he finished formally severing the relationship. To then have housing make a mistake that resulted in not being able to get back on ODSP right away and to be told I can't qualify for emotional support because I do not have a diagnosed mental illness is too much. E.I. gives me about the same income as an ODSP cheque, but it doesn't cover the added medical expenses like mandatory medical supplies, paying for wheelchair repairs, a dentist, or if I get a prescription, a drug card.
How much can one person be expected to take, before it is acknowledged that it is too much? This nightmare has been caused by mistakes, insensitivity, and lack of knowledge about the impact of having a disability.
I may not have a diagnosed mental illness but I'm so overwhelmed and angry that I can't function. I need some emotional support because the ability to be civil, polite and respectful when asking for help is long gone. However, being deemed mentally sound means I can't even have that. Why?
I'm starting to think a lobotomy would be the most kind and civil thing the medical profession could do for me. They could remove the thinking, feeling part of me, then lock me away and let me live out the rest of my days useless.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
I was naive enough to believe the same thing once, too. I have a physical disability which requires me to use a wheelchair, but that should not be enough to stop me from working, right?
Wrong.
I got a job in 2007 at a place that was appropriate to my physical limitations. The building was accessible and the task of using a phone and a computer was completely doable. The only issue was that the business was a 24-hour operation.
For 17 months, there was a recognition that it was best to stabilize the time of my shift because if I robbed myself of too much sleep I would have "meltdowns" that would limit my productivity.
The accommodated shift enabled me to schedule things in a way that meant I rarely had to miss work. Other than a few doctor's appointments and a bad reaction to a minor surgical procedure, I was always able to be there.
My supervisor even congratulated me for not having any unsubstantiated absences. This recognition made me feel proud because I believe in being dependable and it was obvious my efforts were being recognized.
Unfortunately for me, in early July my work situation changed completely. My employer decided that my shift could no longer stay the same. The management moved my shift to a new time of 11:15 am - 7:15 pm. Their idea of accommodation was to leave the new shift stable for 6 months.
I tried to negotiate a better time, but they would not agree to change it.
The fly in the ointment is this: the new shift is one that is impossible to manage with my need to rely on the pre-booked services of the Access Bus, attendant care services, nursing services, and the limited ability to access the majority of goods and services in Kingston because of barriers. When the Access Bus strike ended, a major funding contract had been lost, so 5 daytime and 1 nighttime bus had to be taken off the road.
With a severe allergy to perfume that often requires me to get out of the city bus because I can't breathe, I cannot really say I have reliable access to transit to get the basic tasks of everyday living done in a timely fashion anymore.
The realization that I would soon have to be pushing myself even harder to try to keep up with the new shift was too much. Stress got the better of me and I had to go out on sick leave.
But it gets better... Not really. Work rejected the pro-active medical that I got from my doctor in an attempt to prevent having to leave in the first place. Then, when I had to go on leave, I had to get a medical. Shepell FGI, the company handling those who were on long term leave, rejected it.
I had 30 days to appeal. I asked my doctor to fill out my appeal form, and after he had completed the task, I made the mistake of asking him about a few inaccuracies.
They were subjective statements about issues at work that he could not have witnessed. The appeal form he'd filled out was also missing some details that were requested by Shepell FGI and that were required for the appeal. The doctor must have taken my requests badly because he walked out of the room and told me to find another doctor.
In any case, I paid for the appeal, as it was written, and left. I sent it to Shepell FGI. This medical too, was rejected. I was now facing the accusation of job abandonment.
With no treatment to get over the emotional trauma, no doctor, and nowhere to turn, I called ARCH Legal Services for advice. They recommended I resign rather than be fired because, of the two options, resigning was better. They also recommended I consider filing a challenge under human rights.
I was not comfortable with clubbing my employer with a threat of a human rights challenge so I tried to negotiate a solution once more. I wrote a letter to my employer and, once again, asked for a better time for the new shift.
I added a note saying that even though my employer was subjecting me to undue hardship and was morally wrong, legally my place of employment also had a duty to accommodate. My employer refused to accommodate me once again. I finally realized I had been beaten. I sent in my letter of resignation.
What I never expected was the severe financial devastation that would soon follow.
I live in subsidized housing so I reported the sudden loss of income in early August, which is ample time for my rent to be adjusted downwards, but my landlord didn't get around to processing the change on time.
Instead, in September, my landlord took approximately $300.00 too much out of my bank account for rent, using the auto debit feature I opted into using several years ago.
When I asked for it back, they told me it was to be credited back over the next two months. I could not believe it.
This meant the only way I could eat was to use my line of credit to buy groceries. Eating at home would be cheaper than paying $4.50 for a two-way bus trip to Martha's table plus $1.00 for the meal.
Needless to say, when housing sent me its decision about crediting the amount back over two months, I appealed it.
The appeal has been with housing for a month. The last thing I heard was that it has been passed back to the employee who had originally made the mistake. I guess this means they are allowed to investigate themselves.
In the meantime, with E.I. sick benefits not giving me enough to live on, I went to ODSP to apply for rapid reinstatement.
Little did I know that an income eligibility review would determine that I could not even get coverage for Disability Related Disability Related Items, let alone a drug card, dental card, glasses, wheelchair repairs, etc. I could not get this coverage because my source of income was from another level of government and the income did not come from one of the prescriptive sources named in Directive 5.9. Here is a quote from the directive:
Summary of Directive (Source: Directive 5.9)
- Accident settlements and payments from trusts derived from an inheritance or life insurance policy and gifts or other voluntary payments may be exempt from treatment as assets and income if they are applied to expenses for approved disability-related items or services. Also exempt are payments that are made pursuant to a court order or government-funded program, that are specifically made for the purpose of, and are applied to expenses for approved disability related items and services. My income was $932.00 per month from E.I.
- The Director may approve an increased asset limit where assets are being accumulated to purchase an approved disability related item or service, up to the maximum of the prescribed asset limit plus the amount needed for the items and services.
- Approved disability related items and services include, but are not limited to: assistive devices; support services; health maintenance, health care and safety items and services; renovations; education and training items and services. I definitely qualified for these.
What makes my predicament even more difficult is I haven't been able to get legal advice, even though I have asked, and I can't get counseling or emotional support because I do not have a diagnosed mental illness. This refusal of services means I am left to sort this mess out on my own.
Without a family doctor, I can't even get medication to stop the panic attacks or the repeated bouts of tearfulness that are caused by the anger. In answer to your unasked question I have to inform you that after hours clinics and the emergency department will not treat people with pre-existing conditions.
The GP that just walked out on me is the second one in 6 months. The first physician suggested I move on because a teaching facility is not set up to deal with the longer-term issues associated with having a disability.
The second doctor apparently can't handle the frustration of someone who desperately wanted to keep her job and was concerned by the contents of the letter of appeal which offered no indication that his patient would get any support whatsoever from the doctor.
When I got the registered letter from my doctor to confirm he has severed our relationship, it said I could call the College of Physicians for help in finding a new one. I did as the doctor requested. The College of Physicians of Ontario gave me the phone number for Health Care Connect and I called them.
Would you believe Health Care Connect said the doctor has not notified it to say he has discharged me? This means that I am unable to access Healthcare Connects' services.
I have three choices. I can wait for the doctor to finish the process of severing our relationship, or call him and tell him to finish all the formalities, or call the Ministry of Health Info line. I can't handle the stress of any of that right now.
When I realized how deep I was into this Catch 22, I wheeled down to the MPP's office after stopping at the Kingston Community Counseling Centre and the Kingston Community Legal Clinic, to ask for their help. I dumped the whole lot onto the office of my MPP.
Most of the issues are outside of their jurisdiction, but the office assistant, Anita said she would make several phone calls to see what she could do to help.
All I can say is thank God. I still can't believe I had to quit my job because of an absolute refusal to accommodate the time of my new shift due to the inflexibility of my disability supports, let alone go through the pain of losing my doctor and not being able to get a new one until he finished formally severing the relationship. To then have housing make a mistake that resulted in not being able to get back on ODSP right away and to be told I can't qualify for emotional support because I do not have a diagnosed mental illness is too much. E.I. gives me about the same income as an ODSP cheque, but it doesn't cover the added medical expenses like mandatory medical supplies, paying for wheelchair repairs, a dentist, or if I get a prescription, a drug card.
How much can one person be expected to take, before it is acknowledged that it is too much? This nightmare has been caused by mistakes, insensitivity, and lack of knowledge about the impact of having a disability.
I may not have a diagnosed mental illness but I'm so overwhelmed and angry that I can't function. I need some emotional support because the ability to be civil, polite and respectful when asking for help is long gone. However, being deemed mentally sound means I can't even have that. Why?
I'm starting to think a lobotomy would be the most kind and civil thing the medical profession could do for me. They could remove the thinking, feeling part of me, then lock me away and let me live out the rest of my days useless.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
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