The City of Belleville is throwing its support to a resolution from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent calling on the province to increase accommodation rates of social assistance payments for recipients of Ontario Works Assistance and the Ontario Disability Support Program to Average Market Rent.
A single person on Ontario Works receives a maximum of $390 toward accommodation costs even though the average market rent for a one-bedroom apartment is more than $1,000 in most areas.
At Monday’s meeting of council, Councillor Kathryn Brown spoke of her support for the resolution.
“One only has to listen to the homelessness reports and the rent subsidy reports to understand that it’s this particular group of people who are probably struggling the most in terms of maintaining their homes, retaining their homes.”
Brown says she will also be bringing the resolution to Hastings County’s Community and Human Services meeting this week to ask for the county’s support.
