- Target:
- premier@gov.bc.ca Premier of British Columbia
- Region:
- Canada
- Website:
- www.eia.gov.bc.ca
B.C.'s current income assistance rates for people with disabilities fall well below the poverty line.
The current benefits program does not provide sufficient financial assistance for recipients to obtain adequate food, shelter and clothing or to obtain supports for their meaningful participation in community. The program offers limited support for people who wish to find work.
People with disabilities face serious systemic and attitudinal barriers when it comes to accessing employment opportunities and earning an independent income.
As a result, many adults with disabilities require income support to meet basic living costs and to compensate for the extra costs involved in living with a disability. The social effects of poverty, including isolation, loneliness, and alienation from community life, contribute to both physical and mental health problems.
The savings created by limiting access to disability supports create greater costs in other parts of the social service system. Keeping people with disabilities poor is a false economy!
*To ensure that all individuals with disabilities have an adequate income.
*Ensuring that all individuals with disabilities have enough money for a reasonable quality of life is a collective public responsibility.
*People with disabilities should be supported to improve their quality of life.
Disability status, once established, should be a lifelong designation, through periods of employment and unemployment. Once disability status is established, eligibility for benefits at any point in an individual's life should be determined by financial need.
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The Keeping people with disabilities poor is a false economy! petition to premier@gov.bc.ca Premier of British Columbia was written by Suzah Beth Zivah and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.