Sask. housing organizations hammer government on income assistance policy

Saskatchewan community organizations are urging the provincial government to rethink its new income assistance model, which they say is too quick a transition for their most vulnerable clients.

More than 100 Saskatchewan shelter staff met with Ministry of Social Services representatives in Saskatoon on Monday to discuss growing concerns about the Saskatchewan Income Assistance program, which gives rent money directly to recipients instead of housing providers.

Critics say the new model, which was introduced in July and gradually will replace two pre-existing programs over the next two years, will result in more people defaulting on rent payments and being evicted.

“We’ve got our first snowfall. It’s getting colder out. And we know this is creating issues with housing stability,” said Shaun Dyck, executive director of the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership.

Dyck said vulnerable renters — who may never have managed their own money, or who may live with addiction — are already being evicted more frequently.

On Monday, the ministry faced a steady stream of questions from concerned community associations.

For example, clients have to obtain government ID and a bank account by their second month to receive aid, which Dyck said is a difficult additional hurdle to making ends meet.

The ministry says benchmarks like that, as well as more one-onone time with social workers, are part of the new program designed to make clients more self-sufficient and help them out of poverty.

Jeff Redekop, executive director of income assistance and delivery with the ministry, said in a previous interview that the program was “a new approach to moving people out of poverty,” and stressed that the vast majority of income assistance recipients could manage their own finances.

In cases where clients have trouble meeting program requirements, Redekop emphasized that the program allows for flexibility.

For example, the program’s $500-a-month allotment for emergency housing can be extended under some circumstances, but it’s not clear how this would happen.

“For clients who are not able to obtain ID and a bank account, we are working with them to do so as we believe these are important components in supporting clients towards greater self-sufficiency,” Redekop wrote.