Discussions

Unbelievable who and how they decide to help some people and not others. I know a young lady who is struggling to get through school. Almost finished and will then be able to get a job in her field but she ran out of money. Perhaps she has abused the system already and that is the reason, however she just wanted help with 1 months rent and they refused. This is not the first time I have seen people trying to help themselves and there is no help from Social services. Yet it seems many that are already in the system, have kids, get pregnant have more kids and get more money. Also many who could work but choose to live off the system. I understand there is human rights and all but affording to smoke, drink, and do drugs should not be tolerated if you can not support yourself to have shelter and eat! Christmas hampers will be the same.. delivered to families that smoke, drink, do drugs etc.I just wish things would change! There are good people who are trying to get ahead who can not get help because the system helps too many that should be helping themselves! Sorry if I offended anyone, it is not my intent!

Totally agree with you! Welfare should be there to help, not to make a lifestyle out of. I know of people who sit back and collect welfare cheques when theyre 100% capable of going to get a job, but use the poor excuse of having kids. How about stop having kids if you cant afford them without the systems money and get a real job first. There should be a limit on how long a person can collect welfare, get your ducks in a row and do your part instead of collecting off the system. Also mandatory drug testing and maybe having to submit receipts of where their money goes so they cant be spending it on alcohol or cigarettes. Our system has been failing Manitobans and Canadians for years, i unfortunately dont see anything changing anytime soon. Sucks for those who work hard to actually provide for their families.

As a single person you only get $500 a month for rent, food, clothing and nessisities. I broke my leg in 2013 and had to go on assistance and I''''ll tell you after rent which was 350 I had 150 left for everything else. I don''''t know how anyone is expected to be able to live off that. Healthy food? Forget it. Clothing? Yeah right. Smoking or drugs? Idk how you''''re supposed to afford those when you cnt even afford to feed yourself. Smh. If I didn''t have a sympathetic roommate I wouldn''t have eaten for part of the month. They make a career out of child tax. Because that's where the extra money is.  
 
Edited by kaylagurl21, 2017-11-22 11:10:41

Impossible to live on that amount without outside help. You can thank all the narrow minded right wingers for that.  
 
I help a person in need. Two small children involved.  
 
Without outside help .......

We all know you can’t live off the monthly allowance.  
My question is—Where is the extra money supposed to come from? The people that contribute to this are probably having monthly struggles as well. Our taxes would have to go up, again. The government has no money, it all comes from the tax payer.

kaylagurl21 said "As a single person you only get $500 a month for rent, food, clothing and nessisities. I broke my leg in 2013 and had to go on assistance and I''''ll tell you after rent which was 350 I had 150 left for everything else. I don''''t know how anyone is expected to be able to live off that. Healthy food? Forget it. Clothing? Yeah right. Smoking or drugs? Idk how you''''re supposed to afford those when you cnt even afford to feed yourself. Smh. If I didn''t have a sympathetic roommate I wouldn''t have eaten for part of the month. They make a career out of child tax. Because that's where the extra money is.     Edited by kaylagurl21, 2017-11-22 11:10:41"

do you have children? It is the people that keep having kids that get more money. Too much money, when they can go to work and get daycare like most responsible adults.  
 
I agree, you could not live on that.

I think EIA bases the monthly allowance off different factors. I will be honest I was on assistance and living in MB housing.  
 
My monthly allowance was roughly $786 BUT that amount was also based off of the child support my ex was supposed to be paying but wasn’t.  
 
That $786 was then broken down... a portion automatically went to my rent and I never saw that at all, a portion that again I never actually physically saw went towards my hydro. I was then left with $416 to last a whole month + child tax money. And that was with 1 child.  
 
As for EIA.... they need to start cracking down. The rules are, they don’t expect you to go look for work until your child is 6yrs of age OR in school full time. As soon as my child was in a daycare I went back to work a lot sooner, got a good job, and then got out of low income housing.  
 
Too many people abuse EIA or work under the table jobs so they can get more money in their pockets and EIA doesn’t follow up with you. I rarely heard from my case worker when I had one. My old neighbors always bragged about how they abuse the system and will continue to do so until their kids are 18. Other neighbors were druggies and working escorts out of their houses. Mb housing doesn’t do enough to monitor who is living in their units and allows way too much crap to slide. Cops could be at someone’s house every other day and yet that family is still allowed to live in the unit that someone else could be utilizing.  
 
The whole system both EIA and Low income housing needs a major over haul. Sadly until someone takes that initiative you’ll always have people who abuse the system.

Welfare SHOULD always remain just enough to have shared shelter and to not starve to death, nothing more, the goal is just to not have dead emaciated bodies on the streets, it's not to give people a comfortable lifestyle, thats an earned privilege.  
 
There was a time, the majority of human evolutionary history really, that if you failed to acquire the resources needed for survival, then you and everyone that depended upon you, including your children, starved and then died in an awful way, nature is cruel, so you should be truly thankful for the social safety nets provided by modern civilization, and not complain that it doesn't meet your standards and specifications.  
 
If rents too much get more roommates. Rice combined with legumes makes complete protein and enough carbs, multivitamin just in case, water to drink, and youre all set! Shouldn't cost anymore than $100/month, and already living better than 80% of people on this planet.  
 
If you want a better life talk to your welfare agent, there's programs to help you get a job and free up tax dollars for those who are temporarily in a bad situation, such as the story mentioned by the OP.  
Also, is there not an allowance on making a small additional income up to a certain point?

They need a working EIA system. This does not apply to anyone that is disabled, yet with a disability their may be options of work positions too. If you are not looking for work till children are 6, then you should be able to attend a gov't daycare and care for other kids on top of yours. This would help with the lack of daycare positions. Summer if no kids in your care you should be able and willing to clean ditches, tend to flowerbeds, pick garbage off streets, etc.

In Florida non-disabled people have to volunteer work to get benefits. Somehow most of them are able to find real jobs quickly.

Brenda said "    kaylagurl21 said "As a single person you only get $500 a month for rent, food, clothing and nessisities. I broke my leg in 2013 and had to go on assistance and I''''ll tell you after rent which was 350 I had 150 left for everything else. I don''''t know how anyone is expected to be able to live off that. Healthy food? Forget it. Clothing? Yeah right. Smoking or drugs? Idk how you''''re supposed to afford those when you cnt even afford to feed yourself. Smh. If I didn''t have a sympathetic roommate I wouldn''t have eaten for part of the month. They make a career out of child tax. Because that's where the extra money is.     Edited by kaylagurl21, 2017-11-22 11:10:41" do you have children? It is the people that keep having kids that get more money. Too much money, when they can go to work and get daycare like most responsible adults.     I agree, you could not live on that. "

No children. Just my opinion on what I see often. Also not on welfare or disability. But cannot work due to medical reasons.  
 
When I broke my leg I was on welfare for 6 months because I could not physically do my job. I went back to work after re learning to walk.

I heard recently that the eia program gives clients that are receiving benefits in the disability category up to an extra $100 per month for volunteering. I also just saw a discussion here about the Salvation Army being in need of volunteers to man the Christmas kettles. I wonder if the Salvation Army taps into this program? My understanding is that there is generally a shortage of volunteer positions for those wanting to take part in the eia program.

I can't imagine how pissed I'd be if I saw that, Karen. I'd have whipped out my phone and took a video of the 'poor' wheelchair dude.  
 
The system is a laughable mess, that's for sure!

It definitely needs a revamp that's for sure. I also agree that MB Housing does as well. There's so many "single mom's" living in units with their boyfriends and their rent is being paid by EIA.  
Unfortunately EIA doesn't give money to those that are enrolled in school. I was on EIA for awhile and when I started going to school it was a different program that paid for my schooling and a living allowance. It's called Employment Manitoba.  
I'm sorry to hear about the girl running out of money and EIA not helping.

Provincial welfare has set guidelines for who qualifies. They won't help someone pay rent for a month because they ran out of money that month. If their income is too high to qualify they just aren't eligible, the workers can't waive the rules because they feel sorry for someone, I think this person maybe needs someone to help them budget so they don't run out of grocery money?

Provincial welfare has set guidelines for who qualifies. They won't help someone pay rent for a month because they ran out of money that month. If their income is too high to qualify they just aren't eligible, the workers can't waive the rules because they feel sorry for someone, I think this person maybe needs someone to help them budget so they don't run out of grocery money?

Back in University 3 years ago in a social problems course. When the professor asked if anyone had any questions. I asked, "what about socialism and the welfare state? How would our Government work to fix it?"  
 
Then he said, "out of 4 years teaching social problems, that's the first time someone asked about socialism and the welfare state."  
 
Because socialism and welfare state was not in the textbook.  
 
Will some social workers care to provide their expertise in how to fix a system such as communism?

I know a family who's rent is paid in full by the government, their 7 yr old recieves 350, father works full time in retail and mom just dont go out to look for work after she left her part tine job in spring. They are too fetish to say on my face "We manage with this much" where I work my butt off, pay taxes and recieve less in child benifit. Amazing that welfare is paying their full rent. Its the money that should have used for people like you. I am not jealous of them but curse the system and people working there for not using their brains

The first make over should be giving them coupons for groceries instead of cash. That would be a positive change.

I am offended. Donna you said "Christmas hampers will be the same.. delivered to families that smoke, drink, do drugs etc".... I am getting a Christmas hamper and I can tell you that I do not do any of that stuff. I am a student with three children, trying to finish up my degree to become a teacher so I can earn enough to provide for my family. I am also not on welfare, but I wouldn't have to collect hampers if I were able to get welfare!  
You're painting everyone with a large brush, and I understand your frustration, but please realize that there are people like me who genuinely need the help. I am not abusing the system because I only need the help for a couple years and then will be a contributing member of society, capable of giving back.

people need a program to learn how to manage their money in life and starting at very young age and know what expenses mean and income mean to balance them instead asking provincial or federal to pay their living.

axana596 said "I am offended. Donna you said "Christmas hampers will be the same.. delivered to families that smoke, drink, do drugs etc".... I am getting a Christmas hamper and I can tell you that I do not do any of that stuff. I am a student with three children, trying to finish up my degree to become a teacher so I can earn enough to provide for my family. I am also not on welfare, but I wouldn't have to collect hampers if I were able to get welfare!   You're painting everyone with a large brush, and I understand your frustration, but please realize that there are people like me who genuinely need the help. I am not abusing the system because I only need the help for a couple years and then will be a contributing member of society, capable of giving back. "

It is an annual family tradition that we help with hampers every year. I would easily say that 1/3 of these people getting hampers I feel do not need them. Yes there are houses that have the 55" tv's, parents smoking, nicer insides done up than many homes I see. When I lived in Mb housing there was corruption everywhere. It wasn't uncommon for a parent with kids living in the home and having a working partner living with them contributing to household. Problem was inspections had to give 24 hrs notice so that gives plenty of time to hide the boyfriends items.

I know there is worthy people who really do need some of these services. It really is just a general beef about the system and how it needs to change, I am not pointing any fingers. Good for you Axana for bettering yourself!

I have a family member who is badly abusing the welfare system but I’m worried if I report it that they’ll find out it was me reporting them. Is it possible to anonymously report? It doesn’t seem fair when we bust our butts to make a decent living and they bring in far more than I ever will because of the abuse.

Viv said "I have a family member who is badly abusing the welfare system but I’m worried if I report it that they’ll find out it was me reporting them. Is it possible to anonymously report? It doesn’t seem fair when we bust our butts to make a decent living and they bring in far more than I ever will because of the abuse. "

Oh you can always report it. Trouble is that means more investigating, paperwork, etc. for the workers. I have tried reporting all sorts of stuff back in the day and nobody even cared. It was easier to look away than to deal with the problems head on. They fail to see the bigger picture. Oh it is just one or two people, why bother.