Financial support

Financial autonomy

Income

Not everyone living with a mental health problem lives in poverty. However, those living with a mental health problem that reduces their ability to work have little income to maintain their financial independence. The less income you have, the more you have to keep a budget and look for ways to cut expenses. Let us start with income. Next are various resources that can help improve the budget.

Income

In order to help people in precarious financial situations, the government has set up programs. One of the most important criteria is to determine whether the person is able or unable to work. The social assistance program is one of last resort for able-bodied people. Here is how it is described on the site:[1] :

The Social Assistance Program is designed to provide you with financial assistance if you have difficulty meeting your basic needs. As a permanent resident of Quebec or a refugee claimant, you may receive this assistance under certain conditions. For example, you must have exhausted all other possible recourses and not be severely restricted in your employment.

The Social Assistance Program is designed to provide financial assistance of last resort to people who do not have severe employment constraints and who cannot meet their basic needs because of their financial situation.

A person’s eligibility for the program is determined based on an assessment of the financial resources availability.

the value of his property;

its income;

his liquid assets.

The resources of the spouse and dependent children may also be taken into account in the assessment.

Work premium

A person who receives social assistance benefits and is in the labour market may also, under certain conditions, apply for the work premium.

The government has set up the Social Solidarity[2] program for people who are unable to work at the time of their application. The program evolves according to government priorities. It is currently described as follows:

The Social Solidarity Program is designed to provide financial assistance of last resort to persons who are severely constrained in their employment and who are unable to meet their basic needs because of their financial situation. These constraints are attested to by a medical report.

A person’s eligibility for the program is determined on the basis of his or her state of health and an assessment of the financial resources availability

the value of his property;

its income;

his liquid assets.

The resources of the spouse and dependent children are also taken into account in the assessment.

Adapted work premium

A person receiving social solidarity benefits who is in the labour market may also, under certain conditions, apply for the advance payment of the adapted work premium or the tax credit for this same premium.

An examination of the amounts paid into the various programs on the site of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, depending on the person’s situation, shows that they make it difficult to maintain a quality of life. The Ministry has set up various subsidy programs[3] to help people improve their employability and integrate into employment[4]. Several organizations and businesses use them.

Access to work while living with a mental health disorder is a major issue. In October 2019, statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity[5] show that a mental health disorder is a major constraint to finding a job for 54,201 of the 129,474 people receiving social solidarity, or 41.9 per cent. This high percentage has forced the ministries to seek, for several years, ways of promoting and maintaining these persons in employment suited to their abilities. New programs could be set up.

For people receiving a Social Solidarity allowance, accepting a full-time job presents many psychological (the stress of not being up to the task and losing one’s job for example) and financial (insecurity about the new income for example) challenges. Many of them are highly motivated to work despite their difficulties.

Organizations support people in their efforts to find and keep a job in various ways: individual or group follow-up, aiming for full-time or part-time employment, gradual integration, etc. Various workplace accommodations can help a person maintain his or her work abilities.

Volunteer work (which sometimes includes a transportation allowance and a small amount of money) can be an important step for a person in the process. Holding a part-time position in an organization is often very rewarding for the individual and will give them the energy to move on to the next step a few months or years later. It allows them to live experiences that are close to a job, which for some people is already a great challenge.

[1] All government information on Social Assistance: http://www4.gouv.qc.ca/FR/Portail/Citoyens/Evenements/immigrer-au-quebec/Pages/programme-aide-sociale.aspx

[2] All government information on Social Solidarity: http://www4.gouv.qc.ca/FR/Portail/Citoyens/Evenements/perdre-son-autonomie/Pages/programme-solidarite-sociale.aspx

[3] Ministry of Labour programs and measures: https://www.mtess.gouv.qc.ca/programmes-mesures/index.asp

[4] Departmental Employment Assistance Programs: https://www.quebec.ca/emploi/conseils-en-recherche-demploi/aide-a-lemploi/organismes-daide/

[5] For updated figures, see Table 8 (p.14) of this month’s statistics: https://www.mtess.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/prestataires-assistance-emploi/index.asp

Support for additional expenses

When you have little income and little money saved, every expense becomes very important. Housing is an issue for which there are some potential solutions.[1]. More and more cities are looking at the possibility of a social fare for public transit, which would provide relief for people with low incomes.

Community food banks, community food counters or grocery stores, collective kitchens, and meals served at lower cost in organizations are all avenues to explore in order to maintain physical health by eating properly. With good planning, making strategic purchases based on grocery store sales also contributes to the monthly budget.

Many organizations also offer clothing counters and businesses operate thrift stores that recycle the clothing collected. There are still places where you can buy books, records, games, computers, glasses and other items at a lower cost.

In most regions of Quebec, there is at least one community organization specializing in mental health that offers free or discounted activities that allow people to enjoy coffee shops, outings, sports and leisure activities. Many of them also offer programs to help people develop their employability.

In many cities, sports and recreation departments, libraries, cultural centres and museums have programs to promote access to their activities (free or reduced rate period).

[1] See the page Where to live?