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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-11-29, Page 6Page 6 Times -Advocate, November 29, 1995 Feature Government cuts influence Huron C.O.P.E. students Living on Less is a special pro- file sines featuring people af= fected by government cutbacks. If you have been affected by any. type of government cuts and would like to be interviewed, contact the Times Advocate. If requested, anonymity will be provided. I. The following is an opinion piece written by Kathleen Babcock, a child abuse prevention coordinator with Rural Response For Healthy Chil- dren. Outside the C.O.P.E. (Coop- erative Opportunities Providing Ed- ucation) classroom stands a set of shelves partially stocked with food. This is the "Caring Cupboard" in- itiated by Chris Ritchie, co- ordinator and teacher of the C.O.P.E. program. When social assistance rates were cut by 21 per cent, Ritchie noticed immediate repercussions for the students in her program, many of whom rely on social assistance while they complete their schooling and receive on-the-job training. After receiving their cheques and paying bills for such necessities as rent, heat and hydro, little, if any- thing, is left over for food. One 19 - year -old single woman receives $520 each month from welfare. Af- ter paying $450 for rent and re- paying $40 for an overpayment she received, she has $30 left for gro- ceries and other necessities in- cluding personal hygiene and clothing. The amount remaining, from her cheque after rent is paid `. falls below the $90 per month food shopping list proposed by David Tsu- bouchi, the Minister of Community and Social Services. This is a list that has been highly crit- icized from a nutritional standpoint and one which the 19 -year-old points out does not in- clude soap, shampoo, laundry de- tergent or de- odorant, es- sential items by anyone's calculation, particularly when one wants to be presentable to em- ployers. Students who attend the C.O.P.E. program at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton come from all over Huron County. They work independently on academic subjects two days a week with assistance from teaching staff in order to complete credits to- ward their grade 12 diploma. They attend co-op job placements three days a week wheie they learn work- place skills they hope will eventual- C.O.P.E. students group near the Caring Cupboard, a donation project geared to help affected by government cuts. ly lead to employment. Many students are young, single mothers, and Ritchie has become increasingly concerned about the well-being of their children. One of her students acts com- pletely despondent as she relates her story. A mother of a one and two-year-old, she has about $350 • left from her cheque after rent, Nal\ and hydro to feed, diaper and clothe them. She has just returned to the C.O.P.E. program to com- plete four outstanding grade 12 credits. Another blow to these young mothers has been cuts to day care subsidies. Previously fully subsidized through Jobs Ontario and the Ministry of Community and Social Services, students must now pay $5 a day per child to meet day care costs. This cost leads to another $200 de- duction from this woman's remaining $350. Ironically, many of these students voted for Premier Harris, lured by his promise of jobs and a welfare system that would reward those willing to study, train and work hard to get ahead. Instead they have seen their benefits decrease to the point where it's difficult for them to continue their schooling. With worries about sur- vival hanging over their heads, it's difficult to con- centrate on studies. Students believe the system should reward those pre- pared to work hard those to achieve their goal "to get off welfare and get a job." Some stu- dents indicated they agreed to the proposal for workfare as they want to be a part of the solution to On- tario's economic needs, not part of the problem. The Ontario Social Safety Net- work believes every dollar cut from social assistance will simply end up as a cost in other systems. People living in poverty are far more likely to suffer almost every kind of health problem than higher income people. Poor children face a life- time of handicaps and they are more likely to suffer from psychi- atric disorders and perform poorly in school. Not surprisingly, they are also more likely to drop out of school. In an affluent country such as Canada, we are beginning to see more homeless people. In fact, fam- ilies with children are already the fastest growing group of people us- ing the emergency shelter system. With incomes cut by 21 per cent, more families will end up on the street. As well, the Safety Network as- serts a 21 per cent cut in benefits will remove more than $1 billion from the economy. People on social assistance spend all of their income locally on necessities such as shel- ter and food. Lowering benefits will hurt local businesses and land- lords as well as recipients. Welfare rate cuts will go to sup- port a tax break to the affluent. The people who will benefit the most from proposed tax breaks are those who make far above the provincial average income. Cutting social as- sistance to give a tax break to ad- vantaged people isn't just morally wrong, it's bad economics. Wealthy people invest their money - often outside Canada - or spend it on luxury consumption which creates few, if any, local jobs. Low income people spend their money in ways that create work locally. Whether one agrees with the cuts to welfare or opposes them, the bot- tom line is many children will go without this Christmas. Counselling and day care cutbacks Nancy Hines, a social worker who provides services to C.O.P.E., will no longer work with the program as of December 31 due to funding cuts by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. "I think what (C.O.P.E. students) are.going to have to do is rely on each other more," said Hines, concerning the lack of counselling that will be available to the group. Chris Ritchie, coordinator of the program, said the individual coun- selling Hines provides the students is "a very essential component to the program." "The kids have been out of sthool," she added. "They need a support system." The whole idea of C.O.P,E., she explained, is to provide cooperatiye opportunities. Personal life management, taught by Hines, is a big part of the program. And, due to cuts to subsidized day care, the program has lost eight stu- dents. Between the 25 students at C.O.P.E., there are 17 children. "The people that have been hardest hit have been those with little or no income," said Ritchie. "We're looking at finding some creative solu- tions..,The kids are...trying to help themselves...They're trying to make their own way." "There's no money Left to do that grocery shopping," she added. "Peo- ple would like to see a food co-op started because of the agricultural base of our county." One positive aspect of government cuts to programs, admitted Ritchie, is newly formed partnerships between organizations. A temporary community kitchen in Clinton is being organized by C.O.P.E. and the Canadian Mental health Association in an effort to teach nutrition, budgeting, food portioning and freezing techniques to liuron County residents thii5 znoltth, 'm from Exeter and I went to school in Exeter for four years and managed to get five credits...If I hadn't have come (to C.O.P.E.) I wouldn't have gone back to school because I couldn't go to normal school. I don't like it. I don't like the way it's set up. I would never even have bothered with my secondary di- ploma...They're thinking about cutting C.O.P.E. next year. If I have to go hack to school then I'm within a year of graduating...We don't have enough money to keep...Nancy Hines. She's the social worker associated with C.O.P.E. and they're going to cut her...If C.O.P.E.'s gone I might not finish because I don't like normal school. You know, I'm hoping to even- tually go to law school...I have the marks, all advanced, but if I can't do it elsewhere then I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it in high school...I've brought food to friends of mine that live on welfare...We don't have a lot of money in my family. We have enough to get us through the week which is more than a lot of them. I feel bad...I don't and I do, for the people that get cut on welfare but you know...some of them...who are irresponsible and spend their money on drinking and booze deserve to be cut. But in the long run I really think...the only people that suffer is their kids and I don't think that's right...They should get. food stamps or something, you know, some sort of thing to make up for it...It's not fair." EXETER 4y mother and I moved to a town house in Exeter...I'm 20 4m years old and I'm involved in the C.O.P.E. program in Clinton...It's a very worthwhile program...My mom's on social assistance, which means I'm under that until I'm 21. She's been on (it) for quite awhile...She was an abused wife...so she's very afraid of men in the workplace...She used to work in an office and then she went out of that to raise her two children. She hasn't found very much help in that area to go back to work because she's afraid to go back...Her nerves are just so bad...She's so scared because she hasn't been in the workforce for so long. That affects me because we've been on so- cial assistance so long that it's hard to get off it being a child under it...I've gone back to school now but I was out of school for a year and that was really hard and then I had to look for work because of the wel- fare law. It's been really hard with the cuts. There's not usually enough food...With the food that you do have, you (haven't got) enough nutri- tion. It makes you very tired and sluggish and it's hard to get up for school and to come and to work all day. The C.O.P.E. program really em- phasizes...you can do things and have goals and dreams and when you first come, a lot of students, myself included, (are thinking) 'There's no future, There's no hope. I can't really do anything. I have no skills.'..Through the program you learn that you do have skills and that you can achieve things like going to college after getting your grade 12. So it's a very valuable program." EXETER The Caring Cupboard also Includes clothing donations. • have two little kids, a one -year-old and a two-year-old, and I was getting $1296 and rent is $525...and my hydro comes to $220 each month and then that doesn't leave much after the bills are paid...Now I'm getting. $1086...Last year my baby- sitter was paid for...I can't bring the kids into the day care. One, they're too young...Nancy, that's our counsellor, I talk to her all the time...With things that go on, it kind of helps...relieve some pressure...and she helped me work out a budget...Now they're going to cut her out and no one's go- ,ing to have anyone to talk to and everyone's going to be getting all up- set...The day care cuts mean I don't get my babysitter paid for to go to school...) should be done (school) soon. I should be done in the next se- mester...(I'Il) find some sort of job. I'm putting applications in Ooderich and Listowel...! don't get my license until April and then I've got to find a cat to drive. Before I do that I've got to get a job—I'm 19, just turned 19." BI.)lH Chris Ritchie, coordinator and teacher of C.O.P.E., initiated the Idea to supply the needy with shelves of food. y name's Kevin Langille and I live in Vanastra at the Lion's Club's subsidized housing, so it's geared to your income...I wasn't hit as bad as a lot of other people and I'm single. I have no dependents living with me but for the last four or five years it's been the same thing. I've been trying to get my grade 12. This is the first year I've been here (at C.O.P.E.) That's why I came here, so I could get that done. I've been living on my own since I was 16 and I'm 20 now. The recent cutbacks in the welfare system...I do agree with them that people should be working. I'd rather be working but I have to be in school and I can't do both at the same time...Because of the cuts I was looking for a part-time job to help make ends meet because even though my rent's only $107 a month I only get just under $200 a month...It's not too good. I was having a really hard time making ends meet so what was going to happen was it was affecting my school work...1 was pretty stressed out...ftnding a job and paying the bills. It came down to the point where I was about to get cut off my welfare, (and) kicked out of school be- cause I wasn't getting enough work done and then 1 got home that night and I had an eviction notice on my door because I couldn't afford to pay my rent...I didn't know what I was going to do but my mother got togeth- er with my teacher and they had a big talk...I'm moving back with my par- ents until I'm done school because I couldn't afford to, find a part-time job...The C.O.P.E. program requires you to do three days a week work - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - and then Mondays and Tuesdays (are) in school so it didn't give me a lot of time to look for a job or to make ex- tra money...The whole thinking about it was getting to me and I couldn't be as effective...) was going to have to drop out of C.O.P.E. and get a full- time job...It's been the same thing for the last four years. I've been in and out of school trying to get my diploma and trying to pay the bills at th. same time." VA NA S TRA i% 1111! oil I sit..h� I;rt. ntl,i ext week, Living on Less will focus on a Zurich resident wisp claims gov- ernment cuts have affected single parents and the business community.