Jill Stainsby

The Ad Hoc Coalition, a group of organizations with membership from the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the BC Association for Community Living, achieved some success on poverty issues, particularly in 1995. The criteria for establishing eligibility for Disability Benefits II were changed to include episodic illnesses. The requirement to exhaust all avenues of potential training was also alleviated. The Coalition folded in 1998.

Yet the issue of addressing poverty and mental illness remains. Housing, food, clothing, personal necessities, transportation, medical and dental needs are crucial and quantifiable financial needs. Quality of life, stability, social supports and safety are factors that are more difficult to quantify, but which also depend on a person's ability to access sufficient funds. Combined, these are what contribute to overall individual health and constitute determinants of health.

Mental health consumers frequently have their access to employment and income reduced by the effects of their illness and treatments, such as extended hospitalization. Yet their recovery depends on their ability to establish a safe, supported living arrangement, and unfortunately, many are not able to do that on the funding that is available to them.

There are still critical poverty issues that need addressing, which CMHA and other advocacy groups may consider taking the lead on addressing.

The goal of redirecting Disability Benefits from the Ministry of Human Resources to a separate division where it would be treated as a right rather than a charity of last resort still needs pursuing.

The 'comforts allowance' for hospital inpatients is abysmally low.

The Disability Benefits forms which people have to fill out need to be clearer and simplified.

Up to 80 per cent of people who are at first denied Disability Benefits are finally successful at the last appeal stage (Tribunal). There may be more effective ways to intervene earlier in order to determine eligibility. This might include making criteria for eligibility clearer and more readily available.

The requirement that people receiving Disability Benefits must apply for Canada Pension Plan benefits ­ and potentially lose some of their benefits as a result of provincial off-loading onto the federal government ­ is an onerous process.

An additional problem around Canada Pension Plan entitlements is that there are two very different definitions of disability. In order to be entitled to CPP benefits you must be disabled not able to work again. The provincial Disability Benefits program now acknowledges that some people may be able to work at times when their illness is not as debilitating. This confusion between provincial and federal program creates problems around eligibility that must be addressed.

One-time needs, such as those required by people returning from hospitalization and starting over, should be accepted as bona fide expenses for people living with mental illness.

Increasing the amount of income people are allowed to make in addition to their disability benefit amount would encourage greater participation in the community and increased quality of life. Currently, people receiving Disability Benefits II are allowed to make only $200 above their benefit amount. And those on Disability Benefits I are not allowed to make anything at all. The same rules around earned income need to apply to both categories.

Therapies of a person's choice, which work best for a person and increase their quality of life should be considered allowable, rather than Ministry-mandated choices alone.

These are just a few of the possible areas of concern in the area of income advocacy, which deserve further attention.

Jill Stainsby is a consultant to CMHA, BC Division and a patient advocate at Riverview Hospital.

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