Imagine living on $10,000 per year in Toronto, searching for work while trying to stretch that $815 a month to cover housing, food, transportation and all other necessities. This is the reality for single people on social assistance.
To help them avoid falling into deep poverty – and the consequences that poverty has on their overall health – Ontario must increase the social assistance benefits that unemployed Ontarians who do not qualify for Employment Insurance often rely on. Single adults without dependants who are deemed employable receive about $8,800 in social assistance benefits annually, plus $980 in other tax credits and benefits (e.g., GST/HST tax credit). This income amounts to 40 per cent of Toronto’s poverty line. In other words, singles on social assistance can purchase only 40 per cent of the goods and services they need to achieve a basic standard of living.
These individuals live in deep poverty, a term reserved for those whose incomes amount to less than 75 per cent of the official poverty line, according to Statistics Canada. Just under half of the nearly 2 million Canadians living in deep poverty are working-age singles.
Poverty and health go hand in hand. Research indicates that individuals in poverty have a relatively low life expectancy and high suicide rates. They also are more likely to suffer from heart disease and mental health issues than most Canadians.
In October 2018, the federal government released Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy, which set targets to reduce overall poverty rates. However, the risk in its approach is that overall poverty rates may decline without any improvements for those experiencing deep poverty. For example, families with children that once had incomes just below the poverty line could move above the line thanks to increases in the Canada Child Benefit, thereby lowering poverty rates. However, singles who remain below the poverty line – and do not qualify for child benefits – could see little improvement or fall further behind. Success should be defined by both the overall rate and the depth of poverty.
Ontario’s provincial poverty reduction strategy considers unattached individuals between the ages of 45 and 64 to be a vulnerable population. Yet the percentage of these individuals who are living in poverty increased from 32 to 36 per cent between 2012 and 2017, according to the last annual report on the status of the strategy. Ontario has work to do. Why not start by increasing benefits?
One reason policymakers tend to avoid increasing benefits is that they fear this will make paid work less attractive, a valid concern but only to a point. In a recent report for the Institute for Research on Public Policy, I investigated how increases to social assistance benefits over time increase the number of singles who take up social assistance across Canada. I found that a 10 per cent increase in benefits leads to just a two to five per cent increase in the number of singles who sign on. Although there is a link between benefits and caseloads, it is a weak one. Work provides dignity. It provides purpose and breaks the stigma of unemployment. These factors counteract, in large part, concerns that more generous benefits would drastically reduce the desire to work.
Singles are the household group most likely to face homelessness and to use food banks. Homelessness results in a wide range of health problems. And those who are homeless often face major barriers in accessing health care services.
A national study estimates that a $1,500 per year increase in social assistance benefits for an employable single without dependants would reduce the use of shelter beds on any given night by nearly 20 per cent. Also, research finds that overall rates of food security improved among social assistance recipients in British Columbia after a one-time increase in benefit levels in that province.
Singles on social assistance are more likely to report the negative effects of social isolation. Isolation often results in depression, poor sleep quality, accelerated cognitive decline, poor cardiovascular function and impaired immunity.
Less homelessness and improved food security would result in better overall health and less use of public health care, meaning cost savings to governments to partially offset the additional costs of increased benefits and a modestly higher number of people taking up social assistance. Further, better benefits could encourage more economic and social interactions, which would reduce the negative mental health effects from social isolation.
Reducing poverty can improve health. Although poverty reduction measures of recent decades have succeeded in boosting the incomes of seniors and low-income families with children, not enough has been done for singles on social assistance. To hit federal and provincial poverty reduction targets while mitigating the risks of deep poverty, Ontario must extend higher social assistance benefits to singles.
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Gabriel you are ignorant if a person is living on the streets (that what means to be homeless) where are they getting the money to move across the country never mind to a smaller town? Also you can’t even rent a place without a credit check. Second, the longer one is unemployed the more chance is one won’t get back into workforce, especially, with the rapid speed of technology, nepotism and ageism and racism going on in Toronto. You are like all the politicians and rich who have never been homeless or forced out of the work force and can no longer afford a home. Canada is suppose to be a democracy and home is a basic right according to International laws that Canada say’s it keeps. The government doesn’t generate any money so technically they are welfare recipients living off the backs of corporations and tax payers! It always kills me when people say why should the government pay out money to the poor it’s not the governments money it’s yours!
A single person living in Toronto gets 733.00 a month on welfare. GST is 74.00 3 x a year . Ontario Trillium Benefit is $ 300.00 for the year or can get it monthly. Your figures are way off. Also a one bedroom apt is between $1400 to $1800 depending where you live so anyone on welfare can’t pay rent. Most people are on Ontario Disablity which is $1169.00 but if they are in housing don’t get the full amount the same with anyone one welfare and in housing would not get $733.00
Middle income people and lower income people can afford the cost of moving and can save to move along with finding job opportunity to do so.
Poverty income can’t those people can afford to save enough the poverty income people need that money for food, rent even then the money they don’t have enough to save let alone transport their belongings.
If you get 900 a month or less that money is gone real quick when it comes to rent, food and other basic necessities so you can’t save for transportation, rent in another place let alone a deposit, then you have to take into consideration food then we aren’t getting into special health diets which some of these people have then it becomes more expensive.
People on income of double this would have an easier time moving they can afford to do so because their money isn’t gone by the end of month.
You may be in poverty that doesn’t mean you have no property.
Social assistance being enough to live on means that these people can be far more stable and health to find work within their city as opposed to reallocating with no guarantee of finding suitable work and potentially putting yourself in a worse position.
Well, if I were a single person living in Toronto and clearly couldn’t afford the cost of living there, I would move out of the city and go to smaller towns where I could afford a more sustainable quality of life. Many families (not just the single ones) have found this to be a more realistic option, where they can build community and work enough to support themselves. And this, despite them being already deeply socioeconomically ensconced in the big city. I don’t see why the government has to be mandated to give money to single people who insist on living in the limelight of a place like Toronto — especially when it’s clear that living in the city would be dangerous to one’s health and makes one constantly prone to needing handouts.
It’s so easy to say “just move to a less expensive city”, but, when you’re poor, you literally can’t. If somebody can’t afford to pay rent do you really think they’ll be able to afford the cost of moving?
It is very expensive to be poor, especially if you’re homeless.
Sure, one could opt to just leave one’s belongings behind and stick their thumb out to travel to another city, how do you think that’ll work out though? Then they would have to find employment and a place to live, then find a way to furnish their home if lucky enough to find one that’s affordable on a lower than poverty income. Have you ever tried to find and keep a job while homeless? It’s incredibly difficult to nearly impossible. Believe me, I was homeless for 3 years.
I don’t see why we allow our govt’s to hand out millions in corporate welfare, but, heaven forbid we shell out anything to the people who really need it.
There shouldn’t even be a question of should we or shouldn’t we. A human being is a human being and what is right is right.
If middle and lower income families can move out, often without any support from anyone, I don’t really see how someone who makes $10k a year, with less property, can’t do the same. No I haven’t been homeless, but I’ve relocated at least 3 times in 10 years across different parts of Canada, with barely anything. Relocating may have higher upfront costs, but certainly isn’t anywhere near the total sum of monthly costs when living in a big city, unless one is travelling with lots of apparel (if that’s the case, then being that person’s “poverty” is questionable).
I’m no apologist for big corporations, but it’s always easy to re frame it back to the big companies and blame them for society’s problems, even though they’re the principal agents driving employment opportunities, in any field.
What is right for human beings doesn’t necessarily amount to giving them handouts so that they can continue to live precarious conditions in the big city. What’s right is for them to find meaningful work and a life that helps them flourish in their own terms, and there are many ways to get there beyond handouts.
I raised my baby till she started her own little family for me to still support and leave myself with nothing no where to. Go no money I’m willing to She work but with the fear of people how are we able to go out and get a job and that’s part of our disorder while it while I’m on assistance or the SP I’m staying with my daughter but can’t stay a full week or she will lose her income how is this fair to ask for anyone else when I’ve raised my daughter on my own she didn’t even want to leave home I had no choice because of money now she’s on her own with her own little family on Ontario works which does not give her enough money for rent so I with my odious P can’t say anything because she will be in trouble it’s not fair we are screwed no matter what way we look at it we are all human beings beans