Poverty and Homelessness Studies Overlook the Needs of Disabled Citizens
Monday, July 15, 2013
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Kingston recently presented the results of a 3-year poverty reduction plan for the city. A few months earlier, in April to be exact, Kingston also presented a report on Housing and Homelessness. The City of Kingston has one of the lowest apartment vacancy rates in Ontario. In 2012 the vacancy rate was 1.7 rental units.
In the recently published poverty reduction plan report, (about how the City plans to address poverty issues), entitled: "2013 Report - Plans for Action as a Community: What part will you play in reducing poverty?" there was a summary of initiatives named near the end of the report. It says their priorities are:
This fact is reflected in the Municipal Report Card, published by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, that was released in early July 2013. The Taxpayers Federation gave Kingston a less than stellar grade. The City was given a "D" and it was identified, along with Oshawa, as the worst municipal performer because of how they grew their Sunshine List by over 80% since 2010.
In yet another report, entitled "Spotlight on Housing and Homelessness in Kingston and County of Frontenac" released on April 11, 2013, there were a number of compelling local housing facts and statistics. This was the first annual report done by the city to determine on the state of housing and homelessness in the area. Here are some direct quotes:
I still haven't figured out why Kingston's focus is on paying municipal workers and those contracted with the city a Living Wage and there is very little focus on assisting people on OW (Ontario Works), and no focus on assisting people who are on ODSP, so I went searching a little further because I thought for sure, I was missing something.
I went to the KEDCO (Kingston Economic and Development Corporation) web site.
After reading it I'm not really starting to question where this City has their priorities. .
Here are some of the statistical highlights that reflect why I have some concerns:
Population aged 15 and over
Median 2011 total income $ 35,659
Average 2011 total income $ 46,225
Median 2011 total income for males $ 43,930
Average 2011 total income for males $ 56,050
Median 2011 total income for females $ 28,205
Average 2011 total income for females $ 37,437
Households & Household Income (2012)
Total number of households 70,041
Median household income $ 70,438
Average household income $ 87,127
Under $10,000 16,512
$10,000 to $19,999 7,278
$20,000 to $29,999 7,251
$30,000 to $39,999 6,667
$40,000 to $49,999 5,209
$50,000 to $59,999 5,152
$60,000 to $69,999 4,319
$70,000 to $79,999 3,513
$80,000 to $89,999 7,849
$90,000 to $99,999 4,014
$100,000 and over 2,276
Average # of persons in household 2.34
And now, once again, the QUESTION:
Why did this 3 year poverty reduction study focus mainly on the Living Wage and not the needs of the people who are reflected in those disturbing stats? Again, I repeat:
The LIVING WAGE only benefits employees under the Municipality's control and possibly Businesses and services that the City chooses to contract with.
Do the authours, City Council, and the United Way (who funded this report), not get that:
To illustrate a stark contrast, here is the reality of how much a person with a disability can get on their ODSP pension. (source: http://www.incomesecurity.org/documents/1percentincrease-NovDec2012.doc):
The Ministry of Social Services even admits people on ODSP and OW don't get enough money to survive on because they have a report on their web site that says as much.
If you visit the Community and Social Services website you will see they have posted a chart that illustrates the extent of the poverty in relation to the LIM (Low-income measure), LICO (the Low-income cutoff amount), and MBM (Market Basket Measure).
In there you will see the following for ODSP. The rates for people on OW is even worse.
In other words, no matter how you look at it, if a person is disabled and has no children, they are in dire straits. The government allows for a person to pay for their shelter when housing for the disabled is in such short supply, is criminal. Kingston has rents that are extraordinarily high for a community this size. This was stated in the Living Wage report.
It's shocking to see that this municipality of Kingston, who has been assigned the task from the province to provide social assistance and shelter subsidies to its citizens, has chosen not to do something about it.
With the Accessibility for Ontarian's With Disabilities Act (AODA) now law, it is shocking that the government is not providing accommodation or the appropriate oversight on how the municipalities are distributing the funds, they are given. If they did, they'd see that Kingston, and likely many other communities, are NOT providing disability accommodation at all.
After all, the preamble to the Ontarian's with Disabilities Act 2001 states:
Article 28 even goes so far as to say:
Please read my other Blogs:
Transportation: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
In the recently published poverty reduction plan report, (about how the City plans to address poverty issues), entitled: "2013 Report - Plans for Action as a Community: What part will you play in reducing poverty?" there was a summary of initiatives named near the end of the report. It says their priorities are:
Goals for Reducing Poverty in Kingston:The question I have is, why are they focusing on a Living Wage? A Living Wage can only be given to people who have enough work experience to work for the municipality or a business they contract with. The City just got their knuckles rapped for growing their Sunshine List too fast and by too much.
In 2011, the Steering Committee, made up of the City of Kingston, United Way and the Kingston Roundtable on Poverty Reduction identified the following goals, using input from community consultation.
HousingSkills Development and Employment
- safe, stable, accessible and affordable home for everyone
Community Supports for Education
- economic plan that creates living-wage employment opportunities.
- community that understands and embraces the benefits to the entire community of providing living wage jobs.
- Enhancing skills and employment potential of people to access living wage jobs.
Social Services and Community Supports
- Local education supports that expose students to all types of options and helps them make choices to reach their full potential.
- All children, families and neighbourhoods have access to the support and services they need to support their education.
- An awareness that equitable, inclusive education reduces poverty.
Health
- Programs and services are coordinated and meet the unique and changing needs of individuals and families.
- A social assistance system that provides eligible income security, programs and services to people in need.
- An integrated and compassionate community that recognizes and accepts responsibility to individuals and the community.
- The community at large understands that health is impacted by poverty, employment, housing, education, food security, income, social and physical environment and other determinants of health.
- A safe, reliable, local, healthy, and sustainable food supply for all Kingston residents.
- All citizens have equal opportunities for their best health potential
This fact is reflected in the Municipal Report Card, published by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, that was released in early July 2013. The Taxpayers Federation gave Kingston a less than stellar grade. The City was given a "D" and it was identified, along with Oshawa, as the worst municipal performer because of how they grew their Sunshine List by over 80% since 2010.
In yet another report, entitled "Spotlight on Housing and Homelessness in Kingston and County of Frontenac" released on April 11, 2013, there were a number of compelling local housing facts and statistics. This was the first annual report done by the city to determine on the state of housing and homelessness in the area. Here are some direct quotes:
2012 by the numbers:Not once in that report does it talk about building new more affordable housing, some accessible apartments, or even some supportive housing for people who have a disability and are finding it hard to remain living alone anymore. I even did keyword searches because I wondered if I was missing something. The only time the word "disability" was mentioned was when it was used was in this phrase::
- $ 1,005 - the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Kingston
- $ 34,000 - income needed to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Kingston at market rates
- 25 - percentage of Kingston and County households earning less than $34,000
- 13 - number of homes purchased with the help of City’s Home Ownership Program aimed at helping eligible renters become homeowners
- 27 - number of affordable housing units for Seniors added on Queen Mary Road by the Kingston Frontenac Housing Corporation
- 86 - number of emergency shelter beds funded in Kingston
- 818 - number of individual shelter users over the course of a year
- 20,798 - number of emergency shelter bed nights in 2012 (an increase)
- 15 - percentage reduction in provincial funding for shelters in 2012
- 54 - the average wait time, in months, for social housing in Kingston.
It is estimated that individuals in the Kingston community on disability or social supports spend $100-million annually. Additionally, there are a number of individuals precariously employed, often with multiple part time temporary jobs, who contribute to the local economy.Another stat, that doesn't originate in Kingston, states:
"Poverty and Mental Health"There was no mention made of how the City plans to support people with disabilities who, because of their disability, can't get a job and their only source of income is ODSP. Considering a Social Assistance Review was done just recently, and it is recommended that the responsibility to administer the ODSP program and currently, discretionary funds, which Kingston doesn't pay for (and they should), I am shocked and very concerned.The experience of living in poverty has been proven to worsen mental well being.Research in Toronto showed 67% of single men and women who are homeless have mental illness or have experienced mental illness sometime in their lives
I still haven't figured out why Kingston's focus is on paying municipal workers and those contracted with the city a Living Wage and there is very little focus on assisting people on OW (Ontario Works), and no focus on assisting people who are on ODSP, so I went searching a little further because I thought for sure, I was missing something.
I went to the KEDCO (Kingston Economic and Development Corporation) web site.
After reading it I'm not really starting to question where this City has their priorities. .
Here are some of the statistical highlights that reflect why I have some concerns:
Population aged 15 and over
In the labour force: 89,809Income for Persons Aged 15 Years & Over (2012):
Employed: 83,919
Unemployed: 5,890
NOT IN THE LABOUR FORCE: 51,676
Median 2011 total income $ 35,659
Average 2011 total income $ 46,225
Median 2011 total income for males $ 43,930
Average 2011 total income for males $ 56,050
Median 2011 total income for females $ 28,205
Average 2011 total income for females $ 37,437
Households & Household Income (2012)
Total number of households 70,041
Median household income $ 70,438
Average household income $ 87,127
Under $10,000 16,512
$10,000 to $19,999 7,278
$20,000 to $29,999 7,251
$30,000 to $39,999 6,667
$40,000 to $49,999 5,209
$50,000 to $59,999 5,152
$60,000 to $69,999 4,319
$70,000 to $79,999 3,513
$80,000 to $89,999 7,849
$90,000 to $99,999 4,014
$100,000 and over 2,276
Average # of persons in household 2.34
And now, once again, the QUESTION:
Why did this 3 year poverty reduction study focus mainly on the Living Wage and not the needs of the people who are reflected in those disturbing stats? Again, I repeat:
The LIVING WAGE only benefits employees under the Municipality's control and possibly Businesses and services that the City chooses to contract with.
Do the authours, City Council, and the United Way (who funded this report), not get that:
- The first ingredient a person needs is money to eat right, buy dentures, put a roof over their head, buy clothes etc.
- The second ingredient is job skills, etc., etc., etc.?
To illustrate a stark contrast, here is the reality of how much a person with a disability can get on their ODSP pension. (source: http://www.incomesecurity.org/documents/1percentincrease-NovDec2012.doc):
ODSP
Benefit Unit | Basic Needs | Maximum Shelter | Maximum Ontario Child Benefit | Total |
Single | $596 | $479 | $0 | $1075 |
Couple 2 | $882 | $753 | $0 | $1635 |
Single Parent + 1 child 3 | $739 | $753 | $92 | $1584 |
Single Parent + 2 children 4 | $757 | $816 | $184 | $1757 |
Couple 2 + 1 child 3 | $882 | $816 | $92 | $1790 |
1 Child/children under 18 years of age.
2 One person in the couple has a disability, the other does not.
3 Child under 13 years of age.
4 One child under 13 years, one child 13 years or older.
The Ministry of Social Services even admits people on ODSP and OW don't get enough money to survive on because they have a report on their web site that says as much.
If you visit the Community and Social Services website you will see they have posted a chart that illustrates the extent of the poverty in relation to the LIM (Low-income measure), LICO (the Low-income cutoff amount), and MBM (Market Basket Measure).
In there you will see the following for ODSP. The rates for people on OW is even worse.
Total Income | After tax low-income measure | After tax low-income cut-off | Market Basket Measure | |
Single adult | $13,362 | ($16,810) 80% | ($18,930) 71% | ($16,642) 80% |
Two adult couple | $20,557 | ($23,534) 87% | ($23,039) 89% | ($23,298) 88% |
Lone parent - 1 child | $24,795 | ($23,534) 105% | ($23,039) 108% | ($23,298) 106% |
Lone parent - 2 children | $29,996 | ($28,578) 105% | ($28,688) 105% | ($28,292) 106% |
Two adult - 1 child | $27,197 | ($28,578) 95% | ($28,688) 95% | ($28,292) 96% |
In other words, no matter how you look at it, if a person is disabled and has no children, they are in dire straits. The government allows for a person to pay for their shelter when housing for the disabled is in such short supply, is criminal. Kingston has rents that are extraordinarily high for a community this size. This was stated in the Living Wage report.
It's shocking to see that this municipality of Kingston, who has been assigned the task from the province to provide social assistance and shelter subsidies to its citizens, has chosen not to do something about it.
With the Accessibility for Ontarian's With Disabilities Act (AODA) now law, it is shocking that the government is not providing accommodation or the appropriate oversight on how the municipalities are distributing the funds, they are given. If they did, they'd see that Kingston, and likely many other communities, are NOT providing disability accommodation at all.
After all, the preamble to the Ontarian's with Disabilities Act 2001 states:
PreambleIt also states this about the creation of the ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program):
The people of Ontario support the right of persons of all ages with disabilities to enjoy equal opportunity and to participate fully in the life of the province.
The Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 provides a separate income and employment support program for eligible persons with disabilities. It removes persons with disabilities from the welfare system and provides them with assistance that recognizes their unique needs.Canada also signed onto the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It too, states people with disabilities have a right to full participation in society.
Article 28 even goes so far as to say:
Article 28 - Adequate standard of living and social protectionCanada, Ontario, and indeed Kingston, are failing in their obligations.
States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transportation: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
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