The Stop says it’s time to Do the Math on social assistance

Thursday, June 25, 2009 - Toronto, Ontario -- The Stop Community Food Centre announced today that food banks in Ontario are feeling the squeeze as more people are being forced onto social assistance due to the continued economic crisis. In response to the obvious inadequacies of Ontario’s social safety net The Stop is calling for Ontarians to Do The Math to see if social assistance benefits provide enough income for recipients to live with health and dignity in this province.

The campaign at http://www.thestop.dothemath.org asks people to create a monthly budget for someone living on social assistance selecting from a range of possible monthly expenses and items. The campaign asks participants to make choices for that person – do they need internet? Pet food? Soap? Transit? If so, what do these things cost? How much is a reasonable amount to spend on rent and food? At the end of the survey, the budget results are tallied and compared to the amounts actually received by people on Ontario Works and Ontario Disability benefits.

“There is a line of thinking that says that people on welfare are ‘being paid not to work’ and that they make poor choices with whatever money they do receive on social assistance. But if you’re not on welfare, you probably have no idea how low rates have sunk compared to the actual cost of living,” says Nick Saul, Executive Director at The Stop. “We would like to think that most Ontarians actually do believe that if they or others are laid off, ill, or down on their luck, some assistance from the government is warranted. The question is then: how much? Do the Math demonstrates that even the most frugal estimation of needs far exceeds the realities of what people get on social assistance.”

“There are a lot of problems with social assistance—and we do need a full-fledged overhaul of the system -- but the biggest immediate problem is that the benefits simply do not add up each month and it’s impossible to afford basic things that we all need to be healthy. Unfortunately, in these difficult times, a lot more people are discovering this the hard way”, says advocate and ODSP recipient Cheryl Smith. “Government needs to do the math too. It’s clear to me that rates aren’t set with any reference to reality.”

The website is helping to build support for “put food in the budget” - a campaign launched last February in partnership with the Social Planning Network of Ontario and the Association of Public Health Agencies that is asking for an additional $100 each month as a first step in addressing the chronic food insecurity and poor health of people on social assistance in Ontario.

Do the Math is a public awareness tool, but is also aimed at getting policymakers to do the math, in order to put the question of social assistance adequacy within the framework of the poverty reduction promised by the Ontario Government. Located in Toronto's Davenport West neighbourhood, The Stop Community Food Centre works to increase people's access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds community and challenges inequality.

Media contact: Jonah Schein, The Stop Community Food Centre, 416-652-7867 ext. 235.