Ontario Works - The First Three Days

Ontario Works, the Ontario name for "Welfare".

Day 1 : 

My unemployment has run out , and due to my several interesting and varied medical conditions I'm having serious trouble finding a job. I've applied for Welfare (ahem) Ontario Works, and we get the answer back today.

Disqualified.

My wife makes too much money . They don't care she's facing her second bankruptcy , or sending money home to the Philipines because she has a house there and a family she's helping out , including several (adult) children. They don't care what she's spending the money on , or that she had a sister go through Chemotheropy and we had to pay for it. She's making too much money. She should pay for my everything.

Tears. Sobbing. Mixed with demands that I pay for everything. Next months rent , grocieries, internet ..all of it. Which of course is not possible.

Day 2 : 

Now anger has set in. Now it's all my fault . I must be happy I'm now looking for another place to stay , she accuses me. Options are scarce. Looks like I'll be leaving a couple of rubber maids on my sisters porch for a year while I travel to the mens shelter and essentially lose all my worldly possessions. I'll be alive , and they'll cover medical (Ontario Works will) , but I'm guarenteed I won't like it. The shelter , by the way , doesn't give you a room. It gives you a bunk. In a communial room. There's apparently a lock up for your medical supplies, and a locker as well with your bunk. But think of it like summer camp. 100 guys in one big room. In at 9pm , kicked out by 7am to wander the city , back by 9pm .... yesh ...

A bit of calculation shows 100$ / month for a bus pass , or I could get a bicycle for 30$ at a "cycle salvage" place , they called it , down on bronson and gladstone. I get down there and the price jumps to 60$ , but it's still worth it.   2 painful hours to ride the bike home.


Day 3: 

Visit the hospital and drop off a form at the doctors office for "special diet" that might maybe get me a little more money from Ontario Works because I have Chrones Disease and Type II Diabetes.  Yes, I took my bike. Yes , it hurt my behind painfully and I stopped twice to rest there, and twice more back.

Did I mention the T-Shirt ?  I used to work for my brother , and his company used to work for another company called L****** . (yes, censored it out) . And they had a great idea they wanted us all to wear these puke green t-shirts with the L****** logo on them.  Then they found out that that would make them liable if we slipped on the floor and hurt ourselves or otherwise had an accident, and suddenly us sub-contractors who don't work directly for L****** are told not to wear the shirt. Ever.

I neatly fold this shirt up , and put it on my bicycle seat which as caused me so much pain. And I duct tape the heck out of it. You can't even see the shirt , you just see a huge pile of duct tape wound round and round and round. It's a little more comfortable now , thanks. 

Visit my brother , who's offering me a room. I'm desperate, I'll take anything. The room is not "Marketable" in that there's no door to close and lock , so you can't rent it out to anyone, but he's my brother , so I don't care.

Visit the local food bank. It opens it's doors at 7pm. I get there , after getting lost and asking for directions three times, at 7:40pm. The doors are locked and everyone's gone home, and there's nothing left but a few empty boxes marked groceries.  The place is also in the middle of a low income project with lots and lots of people and children running the streets. Obviously they lined up and emptied out the place as soon as the doors openned.  I go home with nothing.

This , it seems , is going to be quite the adventure.