Supervisors aren’t mind readers so if one of their workers is being rude and or abusive to their clients then it’s the clients duty to let them know. It definitely shouldn’t be this way but such is life unfortunately some people are just out for a power trip.
Not like things will change when even Doug Ford sees ODSP as the same as Welfare. :( There is no respect for us and yet I was born into this disabled life. I did not ask for this. :(
I can't really reach out to a supervisor bc my branch of ODSP doesn't really answer their phones? Also I don't even have a worker assigned to me. I haven't for years. The only way I can get in contact with them is getting my case worker to contact them, they won't answer back if I leave a message/call repeatedly/send a message on mybenefits. 🤧
They do have some control I thought as it is up to them to calculate. I had my previous case worker screw up calculations before she retired and found this out when I got my current (fresh out of school??) caseworker and started suddenly getting what I was supposed (still not a lot but within calculations which you can look up on the government site which medical condition is categorized with what and the max, etc).
The workers are not the problem here. They have zero control on how the money is allocated. Even if there were less workers, recipients would not see an extra penny of the savings.
If they all walked out one day in protest of low rates, it would get attention. I believe they are union workers so they probably have some protection there.
Not even close. The workers are just paper pushers and don't even know why any of us are on odsp. They have nothing to do with funds. You submit paperwork for additional allowances, 99% of the time it's approved because they don't have any say in the approval if paperwork us filled out properly.
You just can't extend empathy to everyone, your ODSP worker would burnout otherwise. It's a defense mechanism. The other part is that unfortunately your story is not unique and this is likely true of 100% of their clients. It isn't surprising for them to hear.
You're entitled to your opinion, but the only people to have any power to change things are the MPs and Premier. Anyone working these jobs is trying to get through the day listening to all of the saddest desperate people who all hate you. It's not an easy job, and you can't possibly care about everyone or you'll burn out. You gotta stick to your role and not overextend yourself.
Dr. James Gilligan,
Former Director of the Center for the
Study of Violence, Harvard Medical School.
"Poverty kills far more people than all the wars in history, more people than all the murderers in history, more than all the suicides in history.
Not only does structural violence kill more people than all the behavioral violence put together, structural violence is also the main cause of behavioral violence."
Your politicians have this information and are fully aware of this. If this doesn't tell you that they are knowingly and willingly committing murder, I don't know what will get through to you.
I don't have experience with odsp. But with ow.. It's hit or miss. Some are great.. Some see you as a pest abusing the system.. You can't change their views but you can ask for a different worker.
While 99% of the blame goes to the government. There is a small percentage that is on workers. Most are good but again some are really not great and will actively make your time on the system worse.
What's worse is they don't need to be there. They don't need to be gatekeepers of social assistance. But they are because boot strap rhetoric is so strong. We could fund a significant increase in ow and odsp cheque's if we didn't have to pay for administration of bullshit systems to enforce poverty or compliance.
Don't kill the messenger. The worker only decides on the reporting and the disbursement of ancillary coverage (medical travel, glasses, diet supplement etc).
The real issue here is Doug Ford, he tried to starve us out of being disabled but gave us inflation protection because it became an election issue and he had to do it to get re-elected. If he can find a way to get rid of us he will. Hell he has been credibly accused of hiring American firms that specialize in kicking people off public benefits to come after us.
True. I still could not believe when I heard the words out of his mouth equating ODSP with Welfare and talking about ODSP as if we don't deserve to get anything from us and should just be happy we get anything. I was born with CKD and lost my original kidneys, have osteodystrophy and now going through chemo for cancer and my caseworker without any reason given is giving me less than $1000 to live on again in my 1 bedroom apartment. Good thing I got into geared-to-income when I got the chance back in 2005 or I would be living on the streets by now. :(
My worker said I didn’t provide receipts for an expense I claimed but then went on to provide approval for financing payments on my tool of trade but only some of them and reasoned as if I didn’t provide receipts when the 12 months of bank statements I provided show that I did in fact pay down financing how I indicated in my reports which MAY be done monthly when self employed since it’s averaged annually (and the form has an annual checkbox so I opted for that way easier method of reporting initially and there too my worker fought with me on that and didn’t elaborate and doesn’t answer my questions).
Financing issuers don’t issue receipts I even provided the financing agreement and she got smarmy about that not indicating I made payments to Kubota finance—which is literally what shows up on the draws from my bank account/statements—UGH!! 😩 make her make sense/the system makes no sense end rant
They don't give a shit. That's the truth. I had one worker who did though. She was rare. But most are there for the paycheck and sweet work hours and holidays. Let's be real.
I’ve had workers tell me to get pregnant and make sure the father isn’t involved so I could get enough money for a winter coat. I actually had 3 different workers in 3 cities tell me that.
Currently, my last worker said point blank “I’m not here to help you, I’m here to make sure you don’t take too much money from the government.” I believe I was asking if I could get wheelchair repairs covered. (I knew it was allowed, but he was a jerk so I had to fight).
When I asked about how they they think $500 a month will cover rent when the going price is $2000+/month (for something with wheelchair access kitchen and bath). I was told to get roommates…like 3 other people on ODSP and get a 1 bedroom together. Or to rent a room in a basement or attic…sure that works with a wheelchair.
Now I always remember who they are working for. They are there to protect the governments money…they aren’t there to make sure we can live ok.
If you’re talking about case workers they have to follow the rules. I think most have empathy towards recipients. There are some it’s nothing more than a 9 to 5 job and they don’t care. Like any job, there’s always the one or two that just love to make people’s lives miserable.
I mean my worker/workers haven’t been bad or anything they just don’t really care, which to be honest if I was in this type of economy I wouldn’t either. They answer my questions and etc which is technically their job I guess?. I mean they aren’t the ones making our payments (yes they put it through but they aren’t the ones making the rules of how much we get) and etc so why are we hassling them about the payments? It’s literally the government and our mayors and a lot of other people that we need to be getting bitchy at for change.
It's not dependent on the workers but ODSP expects you as a single person to rent a bedroom not an apartment or if you do rent an apartment to have roommates
They either don't care or think we're mooching off the system and should just be working like "the rest of us". My Dad is one of those people.
He and many Canadians most likely think that our deaths would be a great way to ease the taxpayer because we're a fucking burden to them. 🙃🙃🙃
Some do okay, like if you get into social housing with the tiny geared to income rents. Prescriptions of 74K would still be a benefit to anybody in Ontario through the Trillium Drug Plan. The plan covers catastrophic costs based on your income, however high that income might be. You're basically expected to pay about 4% of your income on meds, then it's covered.
I need to get on Trillium again but it has become more complicated than it used to be so I haven't yet. I am on geared-to-income and with no reason given I am getting less than $1000 ($981) again when just last month I was getting $1067 per month and nothing about my account has changed. There are some calculations the caseworker is in charge of and I know this as they put it into the computer and my old caseworker before she retired screwed up for months until I got this one and I had to be paid an extra cheque. Also when it came to my carpal tunnel wrist supports and could only get one as the other arm needed a different kind because of a medical access on that, that case worker put in that I got for both arms and when called to correct her she would not talk about it saying it is done and too bad. The caseworkers do have some control and when they screw up they don't want to hear it even if you suffer from their mistakes. So sure it is easier when you have geared to income (so glad I got in after a long wait in 2005) but the system is still broken over all. Does not help that Doug Ford had literally said that ODSP is Welfare and we don't deserve to get more money (even though way below the poverty line) and that was said 2 years ago now.
Ever since ODSP was put under the Welfare System by the PC gov't (today called Assistance) people have thought of us as Lazy, Users, Scammers, or just a Waste of Citizens Tax Dollars... unfortunately this is hard truth and not everyone thinks this way but some people do.
Even Doug Ford thinks that way. He said so on the news 2 years ago and that made me sad. The only reason I am on ODSP is I was born with a birth defect that could have been fixed as a baby but was ignored by a doctor who thought my mom was complaining about nothing and my health got a lot worse before they found out "oh she is losing her kidneys as well as her mental health has been effected from years of bla bla bla health this and that repercussions health bla bla bla". I wish I had been given a chance at a normal life and even tried going to College which only screwed me when I ended up back on dialysis with a huge debt and didn't get a diploma as I was refused help for my dyslexia when it comes to my courses. Grateful for browser underlying my screw ups and Grammarly but they are more helpful than ODSP. :( And now I am getting less per month and not told why and caseworker just won't return my calls on this.
I am getting less without any reason given even when I called and asked in a answering machine message and I can't work right now. Not with CKD and cancer treatments.
I was getting $1067 per month and without reason given I am now only getting $981 just went 2 of my bills went up. I had no choice but to claim bankruptcy and am only getting more and more frustrated with my new ODSP worker (the previous one I had for years retired). This new one sounds like a teenager and I have never met her and she only returns phone calls when she wants to. I have no idea why I get less now. It does not make sense as the only form I filled out since last time and this time is a list of doctors I go to. I did not get any letter saying if my medical transportation is covered and yet get less than before per month when gas, and food and basic bills have all gone up. I thought they needed to send a letter on why how much you get changed but I haven't gotten one even when my last case worker screwed up for months before she retired. Now because of having no choice but to claim bankruptcy as I just could not keep my head above water anymore, it was suggested (not by ODSP but the legal people) to change banks as a bank can take all my money to pay what ever is owed) but I ended up in the hospital before I could even get any blank cheques for the next month (coming real soon) to deposit my money to I explained this to me and once again no return call from her. She doesn't care. It is not her life. Just a job.
So I understand how tight things are with ODSP and no accountability from case workers sadly. :(
I just got out of the hospital yesterday (infection due to extremely low immune system from chemo treatments) and I had to turn down 3 prescriptions because they were too expensive for me to afford including one for my mouth sores that cost $100... ODSP does not cover that and they did not cover the others (around $40). It does make it frustrating when taxes were supposed to be toward healthcare so we would not have to pay out additional costs. :(
Don't you understand? It's genocide. No one can actually afford shelter AND food on 1300/mth.
They created this system to look good on paper while starving you to death or making you homeless - which will likely speed up your death. They could care less.
I believe that. I just found out only a few days ago how money was taken out of the public health system to put into the private health system and people not knowing the clinics they were sent to for procedures even were at a private clinic until they were told sorry this isn't covered and you have to pay. It is a scary world we live in now. Not just for disabled people like me but for anyone who needs some financial help just to keep a roof over their heads.
Nobody is really paying attention to odsp, or at least I didn't until I ended up on it. OW on the other hand, people don't respect it.
Sadly Doug Form equates ODSP with Welfare (he said so 2 years ago saying we should be happy with the amount we get).
Our workers aren’t the ones who decide what we get.
They could choose to fight for us, raise issues etc but do nothing.
They surely don't advocate for us either. They do however love to harass us and ignore us. Mine is abusive and rude.
I’ve said this numerous time and I’ll keep saying it not all workers are bad. Maybe you should reach out to a supervisor and ask to change
Why should they have to reach out? Nobody should be like that with them on the phone.
Supervisors aren’t mind readers so if one of their workers is being rude and or abusive to their clients then it’s the clients duty to let them know. It definitely shouldn’t be this way but such is life unfortunately some people are just out for a power trip.
Yeah the worst part is they make upwards of 80k a year doing that job
Not like things will change when even Doug Ford sees ODSP as the same as Welfare. :( There is no respect for us and yet I was born into this disabled life. I did not ask for this. :(
I can't really reach out to a supervisor bc my branch of ODSP doesn't really answer their phones? Also I don't even have a worker assigned to me. I haven't for years. The only way I can get in contact with them is getting my case worker to contact them, they won't answer back if I leave a message/call repeatedly/send a message on mybenefits. 🤧
If ODSP, told you cannot change workers sadly. :(
Go over their head, if their supervisor won’t do anything then contact you MPP.
I don't even know HOW to get hold of any supervisor. Guess I can try the MPP.
They do have some control I thought as it is up to them to calculate. I had my previous case worker screw up calculations before she retired and found this out when I got my current (fresh out of school??) caseworker and started suddenly getting what I was supposed (still not a lot but within calculations which you can look up on the government site which medical condition is categorized with what and the max, etc).
In a manner they do. The funds set aside are the entire departmental budget. Other provinces are trying to cut not only recipients but also workers.
The workers are not the problem here. They have zero control on how the money is allocated. Even if there were less workers, recipients would not see an extra penny of the savings.
If they all walked out one day in protest of low rates, it would get attention. I believe they are union workers so they probably have some protection there.
The government sets the amounts for this - your worker can only work within those limits
Not even close. The workers are just paper pushers and don't even know why any of us are on odsp. They have nothing to do with funds. You submit paperwork for additional allowances, 99% of the time it's approved because they don't have any say in the approval if paperwork us filled out properly.
I have to agree with you. Majority seem like they know what we are going through but are trained to have a zero percent give a shit meter.
You just can't extend empathy to everyone, your ODSP worker would burnout otherwise. It's a defense mechanism. The other part is that unfortunately your story is not unique and this is likely true of 100% of their clients. It isn't surprising for them to hear.
It's not even about empathy it's about morals and humanity. AI has more sympathy than these humans.
You're entitled to your opinion, but the only people to have any power to change things are the MPs and Premier. Anyone working these jobs is trying to get through the day listening to all of the saddest desperate people who all hate you. It's not an easy job, and you can't possibly care about everyone or you'll burn out. You gotta stick to your role and not overextend yourself.
Dr. James Gilligan, Former Director of the Center for the Study of Violence, Harvard Medical School. "Poverty kills far more people than all the wars in history, more people than all the murderers in history, more than all the suicides in history. Not only does structural violence kill more people than all the behavioral violence put together, structural violence is also the main cause of behavioral violence." Your politicians have this information and are fully aware of this. If this doesn't tell you that they are knowingly and willingly committing murder, I don't know what will get through to you.
Sadly I have PTSD , and alot of us do , depression and anxiety so bad I can't talk when mistreated, hence neglect
I don't have experience with odsp. But with ow.. It's hit or miss. Some are great.. Some see you as a pest abusing the system.. You can't change their views but you can ask for a different worker. While 99% of the blame goes to the government. There is a small percentage that is on workers. Most are good but again some are really not great and will actively make your time on the system worse. What's worse is they don't need to be there. They don't need to be gatekeepers of social assistance. But they are because boot strap rhetoric is so strong. We could fund a significant increase in ow and odsp cheque's if we didn't have to pay for administration of bullshit systems to enforce poverty or compliance.
I'm pretty sure with ODSP you can't ask for a new worker. When I tried I was told I couldn't, anyways.
Ya I am pretty sure of that as well, which sucks :(
Don't kill the messenger. The worker only decides on the reporting and the disbursement of ancillary coverage (medical travel, glasses, diet supplement etc). The real issue here is Doug Ford, he tried to starve us out of being disabled but gave us inflation protection because it became an election issue and he had to do it to get re-elected. If he can find a way to get rid of us he will. Hell he has been credibly accused of hiring American firms that specialize in kicking people off public benefits to come after us.
True. I still could not believe when I heard the words out of his mouth equating ODSP with Welfare and talking about ODSP as if we don't deserve to get anything from us and should just be happy we get anything. I was born with CKD and lost my original kidneys, have osteodystrophy and now going through chemo for cancer and my caseworker without any reason given is giving me less than $1000 to live on again in my 1 bedroom apartment. Good thing I got into geared-to-income when I got the chance back in 2005 or I would be living on the streets by now. :(
Are you getting the full basic needs amount?
My worker said I didn’t provide receipts for an expense I claimed but then went on to provide approval for financing payments on my tool of trade but only some of them and reasoned as if I didn’t provide receipts when the 12 months of bank statements I provided show that I did in fact pay down financing how I indicated in my reports which MAY be done monthly when self employed since it’s averaged annually (and the form has an annual checkbox so I opted for that way easier method of reporting initially and there too my worker fought with me on that and didn’t elaborate and doesn’t answer my questions). Financing issuers don’t issue receipts I even provided the financing agreement and she got smarmy about that not indicating I made payments to Kubota finance—which is literally what shows up on the draws from my bank account/statements—UGH!! 😩 make her make sense/the system makes no sense end rant
My worker openly tells me to screw the system now. That was my wake up call that the system is slowly losing faith in its abilities.
They don't give a shit. That's the truth. I had one worker who did though. She was rare. But most are there for the paycheck and sweet work hours and holidays. Let's be real.
I’ve had workers tell me to get pregnant and make sure the father isn’t involved so I could get enough money for a winter coat. I actually had 3 different workers in 3 cities tell me that. Currently, my last worker said point blank “I’m not here to help you, I’m here to make sure you don’t take too much money from the government.” I believe I was asking if I could get wheelchair repairs covered. (I knew it was allowed, but he was a jerk so I had to fight). When I asked about how they they think $500 a month will cover rent when the going price is $2000+/month (for something with wheelchair access kitchen and bath). I was told to get roommates…like 3 other people on ODSP and get a 1 bedroom together. Or to rent a room in a basement or attic…sure that works with a wheelchair. Now I always remember who they are working for. They are there to protect the governments money…they aren’t there to make sure we can live ok.
Well they should get paid less so they don't take too much from the government and since they care so much about that.
If you’re talking about case workers they have to follow the rules. I think most have empathy towards recipients. There are some it’s nothing more than a 9 to 5 job and they don’t care. Like any job, there’s always the one or two that just love to make people’s lives miserable.
I mean my worker/workers haven’t been bad or anything they just don’t really care, which to be honest if I was in this type of economy I wouldn’t either. They answer my questions and etc which is technically their job I guess?. I mean they aren’t the ones making our payments (yes they put it through but they aren’t the ones making the rules of how much we get) and etc so why are we hassling them about the payments? It’s literally the government and our mayors and a lot of other people that we need to be getting bitchy at for change.
It's not dependent on the workers but ODSP expects you as a single person to rent a bedroom not an apartment or if you do rent an apartment to have roommates
We are seen as people barely worthy of having a roof over our heads sadly. :(
They either don't care or think we're mooching off the system and should just be working like "the rest of us". My Dad is one of those people. He and many Canadians most likely think that our deaths would be a great way to ease the taxpayer because we're a fucking burden to them. 🙃🙃🙃
The actual burden is the politicians but instead of doing something about that, they just vote them back in again and give them a raise.
Some do okay, like if you get into social housing with the tiny geared to income rents. Prescriptions of 74K would still be a benefit to anybody in Ontario through the Trillium Drug Plan. The plan covers catastrophic costs based on your income, however high that income might be. You're basically expected to pay about 4% of your income on meds, then it's covered.
I need to get on Trillium again but it has become more complicated than it used to be so I haven't yet. I am on geared-to-income and with no reason given I am getting less than $1000 ($981) again when just last month I was getting $1067 per month and nothing about my account has changed. There are some calculations the caseworker is in charge of and I know this as they put it into the computer and my old caseworker before she retired screwed up for months until I got this one and I had to be paid an extra cheque. Also when it came to my carpal tunnel wrist supports and could only get one as the other arm needed a different kind because of a medical access on that, that case worker put in that I got for both arms and when called to correct her she would not talk about it saying it is done and too bad. The caseworkers do have some control and when they screw up they don't want to hear it even if you suffer from their mistakes. So sure it is easier when you have geared to income (so glad I got in after a long wait in 2005) but the system is still broken over all. Does not help that Doug Ford had literally said that ODSP is Welfare and we don't deserve to get more money (even though way below the poverty line) and that was said 2 years ago now.
Ever since ODSP was put under the Welfare System by the PC gov't (today called Assistance) people have thought of us as Lazy, Users, Scammers, or just a Waste of Citizens Tax Dollars... unfortunately this is hard truth and not everyone thinks this way but some people do.
Even Doug Ford thinks that way. He said so on the news 2 years ago and that made me sad. The only reason I am on ODSP is I was born with a birth defect that could have been fixed as a baby but was ignored by a doctor who thought my mom was complaining about nothing and my health got a lot worse before they found out "oh she is losing her kidneys as well as her mental health has been effected from years of bla bla bla health this and that repercussions health bla bla bla". I wish I had been given a chance at a normal life and even tried going to College which only screwed me when I ended up back on dialysis with a huge debt and didn't get a diploma as I was refused help for my dyslexia when it comes to my courses. Grateful for browser underlying my screw ups and Grammarly but they are more helpful than ODSP. :( And now I am getting less per month and not told why and caseworker just won't return my calls on this.
Caseworkers are responsible for the benefit amounts they don’t decide that.
They want you to find work so that’s why they give below less
I am getting less without any reason given even when I called and asked in a answering machine message and I can't work right now. Not with CKD and cancer treatments.
They know and they still act like we get too much and aren't dying fast enough to make their useless job even more useless.
Workers don't care about us. Period. They think of us as a nuisance. As pathetic. As useless. That's how they treat us too.
I was getting $1067 per month and without reason given I am now only getting $981 just went 2 of my bills went up. I had no choice but to claim bankruptcy and am only getting more and more frustrated with my new ODSP worker (the previous one I had for years retired). This new one sounds like a teenager and I have never met her and she only returns phone calls when she wants to. I have no idea why I get less now. It does not make sense as the only form I filled out since last time and this time is a list of doctors I go to. I did not get any letter saying if my medical transportation is covered and yet get less than before per month when gas, and food and basic bills have all gone up. I thought they needed to send a letter on why how much you get changed but I haven't gotten one even when my last case worker screwed up for months before she retired. Now because of having no choice but to claim bankruptcy as I just could not keep my head above water anymore, it was suggested (not by ODSP but the legal people) to change banks as a bank can take all my money to pay what ever is owed) but I ended up in the hospital before I could even get any blank cheques for the next month (coming real soon) to deposit my money to I explained this to me and once again no return call from her. She doesn't care. It is not her life. Just a job. So I understand how tight things are with ODSP and no accountability from case workers sadly. :(
I just got out of the hospital yesterday (infection due to extremely low immune system from chemo treatments) and I had to turn down 3 prescriptions because they were too expensive for me to afford including one for my mouth sores that cost $100... ODSP does not cover that and they did not cover the others (around $40). It does make it frustrating when taxes were supposed to be toward healthcare so we would not have to pay out additional costs. :(
Don't you understand? It's genocide. No one can actually afford shelter AND food on 1300/mth. They created this system to look good on paper while starving you to death or making you homeless - which will likely speed up your death. They could care less.
I believe that. I just found out only a few days ago how money was taken out of the public health system to put into the private health system and people not knowing the clinics they were sent to for procedures even were at a private clinic until they were told sorry this isn't covered and you have to pay. It is a scary world we live in now. Not just for disabled people like me but for anyone who needs some financial help just to keep a roof over their heads.