Emergency Meeting: Fighting Housing Stabilization Fund Denial and Discrimination

Monday, July 18 |31 Wellesley Street East (OPSEU Membership Centre)|5pm

Meal Provided. Childcare Available. Wheelchair Accessible Space
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For the last two months OCAP has been fighting for the Bardeau family to get access to Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF). As part of this struggle, we have obtained the City’s secret HSF policies and found proof the City is discriminating against families and disabled people.

We are calling a community meeting on this issue to:

- Enable those who need access to the HSF, in order to obtain or retain housing, to get more information on how they can best access it.
- Talk to people who have been denied HSF about fighting their decision.
- Give an overview of HSF policy, its eligibility formula, and how it is discriminatory (we will have copies of the policies available).
- Plan out a campaign of action to defend and strengthen the HSF and raise social assistance rates.

About the Housing Stabilization Fund:

The Housing Stabilization Fund is available to anyone in the City on social assistance who needs money for moving, arrears, last month’s rent and/or furniture. Until we forced the City to release it, the policies about who qualifies and under what circumstances had been kept secret. Many people have been denied and most aren't able to file a reasonable appeal because they aren’t allowed to know the rules under which they were denied. It is a travesty of a policy that restricts access and denies any semblance of administrative fairness to those who apply. The HSF is being deliberately and systematically withheld from many people in this way. A benefit that enables people to escape homelessness or preserve their housing is too important for us to allow it to be destroyed in this way.

The HSF resulted from the elimination of the Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) in 2013 by the provincial Liberals. This is part of the Liberal attack on social assistance recipients in which they eliminate or change benefits that result in massive losses to poor people.

About Laura Bardeau’s Case:

OCAP backed Laura Bardeau and her two sons, after the City denied them replacement bedding and furniture. We fought for and won nearly ¾ of what we were demanding. We took a mass delegation to City Hall on June 15 to demand the rest. We successfully forced them to proceed with a review of Laura's case, the results of which are going to be announced this week. We will keep fighting until Laura gets the maximum amount!

Please come out to our meeting on Monday and support the fight against austerity and for HSF justice!