Other ways to support

### Jackie’s situation

&quot;Jackie&quot; contacted Thunder Bay Counselling looking for assistance to deal with her financial crises. Jackie had been experiencing health issues for many years. During this period, she lost her employment and started receiving financial assistance through Ontario Works. However, her income was insufficient to cover her expenses, and with her health issues she was no longer able to manage her finances.

### Connecting with an organization

When she contacted the Financial Counsellor, she was at risk of losing her housing and was facing legal action on accounts in arrears. She was overwhelmed by the legal correspondence she was receiving and by the looming deadline for her eviction. The Financial Counsellor helped Jackie to understand her legal and financial situation, and to connect to community legal support. Together, they used the Benefit wayfinder to find a couple of benefits Jackie was not receiving, figuring out the steps needed to apply for them.

### Outcome

The counsellor then helped Jackie to communicate with the lawyers regarding her financial situation resulting in Jackie being able to maintain her housing. They continue to work on benefit  applications and budget updates to ensure that Jackie has the tools and skills to maintain her finances going forward. Jackie says the support was a &quot;lifesaver&quot; and she is now looking forward to and planning for the future.

How you might help someone like <em>Jackie</em>

Jackie

# __Bridge to benefits__: <br /> Implementing benefits access in social service

If you are an organization looking to help people living on low incomes access the benefits they are eligible for, this tool can help you get started.

Organizations play a vital role in providing community members with access to benefits. Tax clinics, homeless shelters, food banks, health centres and others can all do their part to provide these services.

Helping community members access the benefits they are  eligible for can increase their income, improve their financial well-being and quality of life, and improve other life stabilization outcomes such as food security, housing security, and mental health.

For information on individual benefits a person may be eligible for, you can also check out our [Benefits Wayfinder](https://benefitswayfinder.org/).

Get practical tools, methods, and advice. Learn from other organizations who are already providing access to benefits services by accessing this collection of their best practices.

Best practices

Systems, Staff, Principles

Benefits can make a huge difference in the income level of people living on low incomes. It can be the difference between housing and homelessness, feeding your family or going hungry. Access to benefits increase household income. Benefits help people and families achieve a better quality of life.

Any time an individual accesses any kind of social service, regardless of their situation, it is an opportunity to inform them of the benefits they might be eligible for, and how to access them.

Why benefits matter

There are four main steps that people go through in accessing benefits. Your organization can help support clients at various stages of their benefits journey.

How to use this tool

Browse supports

4 steps diagram

Not sure where to start? Here is where we recommend you take a look through first.

6 supports you can start with

Bridge to benefits: Implementing benefits access in social service

Time

Expertise

1-3 loose partnerships with other organizations required.

Partnerships

Filing taxes is a critical gateway to accessing many government benefits. Some benefits are applied for when filing (such as the GST/HST Credit), while others require you to have filed your taxes and then fill out an application. (e.g., the Canada Child Benefit).

Supporting people in filing taxes is an important way to help them access benefits and tax credits. Hosting a Community Volunteer Income Tax Clinic (CVITP) is a great way for your organization to help, or you can provide other 1-on-1 tax filing help. If you already host a clinic or are not interested in hosting a clinic at your organization, there are other ways you can support people. This could include referrals to clinics in your area, partnering with others that provide this service, or offering other tax services such as tax preparation workshops/clinics, or supporting self-filing.

If you do decide to host your own clinic, go to [Hosting a tax clinic](/resource/hosting-a-tax-clinic) for more information.

Tax filing

Support with filing taxes

Few/no partnerships with other organizations required.

Documentation is required to apply for and maintain benefits, file taxes and open a bank account, such as a Social Insurance Number (SIN), birth certificate, or a secure certificate of Indian Status.

Sometimes a person may also require medical information, rent receipts, or proof of residence, to apply for a benefit or appeal if their application is declined.

Often clients will need help to gather the required documentation or to obtain it. Your organization can help by clarifying documentation requirements, included explaining what each type of documentation is and how to access it.

To find out what documentation is required, visit the [Benefits wayfinder](https://benefitswayfinder.org/).

Documentation access

Help gather documentation  (for application, maintenance or appeal)

Limited specialized expertise needed, e.g., minimally onboarded volunteers could do this work.

Maintaining benefits sometimes requires ongoing action, like filling out a reporting form or keeping your tax filing up to date. Your organization can play an important role by reminding their community about these important milestones.

Benefits promotion

Build awareness of upcoming dates and deadlines

Step 4: Maintaining benefits

For people that are underbanked- meaning they have limited or no access to traditional financial institutions - accessing benefits via cheque or direct deposit is difficult. Some benefits require a registered savings account, such as the Canada Learning Bond that requires a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).

Your organization can help clients access banking services by easing their fears around banking or helping them to open an account.

Logistics

Help obtain access to banking

Step 3:  Getting benefits

Filling out benefits applications can be challenging, especially for those with literacy barriers, or with low confidence or experience. Organizations can offer 1-on-1 support filling out forms, helping participants feel more comfortable with the process.

Benefits screening

Help fill out benefits applications

Strong partnerships and collaboration are required to this work.

Lack of government ID is a significant barrier for many clients.  You may want to support clients when they require ID to be attested to or verified. The level of support you offer will depend on the province or territory you live in, and the professional certification required. Be sure to research your province’s laws around ID attestation and verification.

- __Attestation__ is the proof or evidence of something. It can refer to the witnessing of something or formally verifying something to be true. In the case of taxes and benefits it may be a document that verifies the person or where they reside.
- __Verification__ is the process of establishing the truth, accuracy, or validity of something.

Provide ID attestation and verification

Access to a telephone, computer, printer, or the internet are critical in applying for benefits, printing out paperwork, or contacting benefits administrators to discuss issues. Making these tools available to clients can help with the process of accessing benefits.

Provide access to communications tools (computers etc.)

Some benefits require you to have a stable mailing address to respond to questions or to receive payment. However, people living on low incomes may not have stable addresses, either through homelessness, precarious housing, or frequent moves. Providing your organization’s mailing address and collecting mail for your clients can be an important contribution to benefits access.

Allow use of mailing address

Often benefits application processes lead to applicants having to travel to multiple locations to apply successfully (e.g., going to Service Canada to get documents or to visit a doctor to fill out forms).  The costs associated with travel can be prohibitive. Your organization can help by providing supports like bus tickets or offering to drive clients to various appointments.

Assist with transportation support

It is recommended that workers with prior experience complete this type of work.

Many people do not have the necessary documents for benefits applications, especially for those who are experiencing homelessness or are precariously housed, those with psychiatric issues, the elderly, Indigenous peoples, or those who have been recently incarcerated. Filling out applications for these documents can be intimidating. Organizations can help by offering 1-on-1 support with filling out forms and clarifying what parts of these forms mean, helping participants feel more comfortable with the process.

Fill out applications for documentation

Individuals experiencing homelessness or those who have precarious housing may not have a safe place to store their important documents (e.g., tax slips, ID, Social Insurance Number cards, etc.), increasing the chance they get stolen or lost. Providing storage for documents or document photocopies is a way your organization can help individuals access benefits.

Offer safe document storage

If someone has a low digital literacy, it can be tough to complete online benefits applications, use online portals such as MyCRA, and find relevant information about benefits updates or eligibility.  Even without specific benefit knowledge, a staff member helping clients navigate these online platforms can be a big help in applying for benefits.

Help with navigating online resources

Accessing benefits often requires applicants to have documentation (such as a Social Insurance Number or a birth certificate). However, vulnerable populations often don’t have these documents and it often costs money to get new copies. Perhaps your organization can help cover document fees for people living on low incomes, helping them to get the documents they need to access income-boosting benefits.

Cover cost of document fees

Step 2: Applying for benefits

Many people do not know about all the benefits they might be eligible for. Your organization can play an important role by building awareness of the benefits that are relevant for the communities you serve.

Market and promote benefits

Hosting group information sessions on common benefits is a great way to help your community get comfortable with applying for benefits and provide an opportunity to ask questions and get support.

Consider inviting a relevant expert (e.g., government representative or local advocate) to present on a specific benefit.

Provide group information sessions

Sometimes income and social benefit programs can interact with one another to affect a person’s benefit levels and eligibility. For example, some people who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) saw their social assistance benefits go down. This can make people hesitant to apply for new benefits.

Your organization can help overcome this barrier by helping clients understand the interactions between benefits, and how getting one benefit may or may not impact another.

Explain how benefits interact

The __Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP)__ has existed since 1971.  It is a collaboration between community organizations and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to provide free tax filing supports to people living on low incomes in Canada and has a massive impact on benefits access across Canada.

During the 2019-2020 program year, more than 18,970 volunteers and 3,810 community organizations filed over 467,500 tax returns for individuals across Canada and helped over 407,410 individuals. Since May 2020, an additional 180,000 tax returns have been filed through virtual tax clinics.

Tax clinics are a critical gateway to receiving benefits. Whether you choose to refer your clients to a clinic, partner with an organization that provides this service, or embark on setting one up at your organization, there are many resources available to assist you. For information on referring clients or partnering with other organizations to provide tax filing support visit Support with Filing taxes.

If you are considering hosting your own CVITP clinic, there are many CRA resources available.

Hosting a tax clinic

It can be hard to find out what benefits someone is eligible for since the information is spread across different websites and can be complex or confusing.

It can also be a challenge to sift through all available benefits and find the ones that just apply to a person’s specific situation.

Using the [Benefits wayfinder](https://benefitswayfinder.org/) and/or the knowledge of your experienced staff, you can help people find the specific benefits that match their situation.

Bridge to benefits: Implementing benefits access in social service

How to use this tool

Why benefits matter

How you might help someone like Jackie

Jackie’s situation

Connecting with an organization

Outcome

Best practices

6 supports you can start with

Bridge to benefits:
Implementing benefits access in social service