Income Assistance

The Ministry of Housing and Social Development is the provincial government body that assists British Colombians with financial and medical resources, when a person or family is unable to provide financially for themselves and their children. It is easier to refer to this Ministry as," Income Assistance". There is strict criteria for being eligible for financial services.

The application for income assistance is now on line, people can use their own personal computer, if they have the Internet, if they do not they can go into the local income assistance office and use the computers there. If a translator is required, to assist a person applying and for any required appointments, the ministry can  arrange and pay the costs for a translator. Applying for income assistance is a long process and the application takes about 45 minutes to a hour to complete. There is a three week waiting period once you apply,  the ministry guidelines state," that a person must look for work during this waiting period." There are exceptions to the three week waiting period, a doctors note stating you are not able to work, a eviction notice if you do not pay your rent, homelessness, fleeing violence, entering a rehabilitation program and a few other exemptions. If you are unsure if you are eligible to waive the three week work search it is important to ask the income assistant workers.

Once the application has been completed, and it has been determined whether or not the three week work search needs to be satisfied or waived , you wait. The legislation says you should receive a call within five business days, this may or may not happen within this time frame. The initial call can be anytime within a day to three weeks. If you miss this call you may get a call back within a day or two. If you have not heard from a income assistance worker within a week, you should follow up with a call, just to confirm that you have not missed the initial call. The first call is to set up the appointment for a telephone intake interview call.

The intake interview call is when the income assistance worker will go over all the information that you filled out in the initial  online application. The worker will give you a list of papers to collect and bring to Income assistance such as, I.D., bank account information, bank profile forms, rent receipt,income tax papers, and car insurance papers. You must bring the required paperwork to your nearest Income assistance office, within five days, of the telephone interview. The income assistance worker then has five days to review all your paperwork and determine if you are eligible or whether more information is required from you to determine eligibility.

If you are denied income assistance there is a appeal procedure available to any person who applies. The appeal process has very strict time lines. It is best to find a community support worker or legal advocate to assist you with the appeal process.

www.eia.gov.bc.ca/bcea.htm
www.lss.bc.ca


Citation of Image

Banner. 2011. ministry of social developement, british columbia. Web. 5 Jan 2013. <www.eia.govbc.ca/wordmark/index.htm.>.