WorkSafe BC, formally WCB, is the portal for workers safety in BC. There are forms and information on how to apply for compensation if you are injured on the job.

Low-income British Colombians who want a break from repaying their student loans will know if they qualify within hours of using a new online application. To find the online application, go to http://www.StudentAidBC.ca, click on British Columbia Student Loan Service Bureau https://www.bcslservicebureau.com/Content/default.html in the left-hand menu, and log in. The application can be used by all borrowers with direct-lend B.C. student loans.

BC Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance is the BC government's site for welfare. It has information on how to apply, how much you are eligible for, what you need to apply, and other information.

• Applying for BC Employment and Assistance (BCEA) - How to apply for welfare in BC. Translations available in Chinese, French, Hindi, Persian, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
• BC Employment and Assistance Web Orientation - You must complete an orientation session no more than 60 days before applying for BC Employment and Assistance. You can attend a session at an office, or complete a web session.
• Income Assistance Estimator - You can estimate how much you may receive on welfare.
• Enquirer's Checklist - What you need to apply for welfare.
• Assistance Rate Table - Rates for welfare, disability, child in care of a relative, hardship assistance, general supplements, health supplements and programs, and the seniors supplement.

BC Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance - Information for Persons with Disabilities- Information on Disability Assistance in BC. In order to recieve Person with Disabilities (PWD) assistance you have to fill in an application form, have a physician report completed by a doctor or medical practitioner and assessor report completed by a health professional of the your choice. PWD also recgonizes mental health as a disability.

• How to Apply for Persons with Disabilities Assistance
• Persons with Disabilities Brochure
• PWD Brochure (in PDF)
• Disability Assistance Rate Table - You can estimate how much you may receive on disability assistance.
• Persons with Disabilities Factsheet
• Persons with Disabilities Factsheet (in PDF)

BCPIAC has released a fact sheet on the Emergency Needs Assessment (in PDF). The Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance usually requires people applying for welfare to complete a 3-week work search before you can receive any benefits. You do not have to do a 3-week work search if you:

• need food, a place to stay or medical attention right away (if so, you must ask for an “Emergency Needs Assessment” and this assessment should happen within 24 hours);
• are 65 or over;
• have a severe physical or mental condition that doesn’t allow you to search for a job;
• are applying for “child in the home of a relative” benefits;
• are fleeing an abusive spouse or relative; and/or
• are not legally allowed to work in Canada.

In October 2006, the BC Government announced a Rental Assistance Program that is supposed to give rental subsidies to low income working families. For information on how to apply, go to: How to apply to the Rental Assistance Program

You may be eligible to for the Rental Assistance Program if you meet the following criteria:

• Some or all of your annual income must come from employment.
• You have at least one or more dependent child under the age of 19.
• You have an annual income below $28,000.
• Some or all of your annual income comes from employment.
• You have less than $10,000 in assets.
• You file an annual income tax return.
• You pay more than 30 per cent of your household income towards rent for your home, or pay pad rental for a manufactured home (trailer) that you own and occupy.
• You have lived in British Columbia for the full 12 months immediately preceding the date of application.
• You meet the residency requirements for the program.

BC Housing is an affordable housing agency in BC that provides housing for low income families, seniors, singles at risk of homelessness, and people with disabilities. There is a usually a long wait list for susidized housing but you can apply online:

• Step 1 - Select housing
• Step 2 - Apply to The Housing Registry
• Step 3 - Apply to non-profit and co-operative housing providers
• Step 4 - Keep your application up-to-date

For more information: How to Apply for Subsidizing Housing.
Information on eligibility and how to apply for housing is available in English (in PDF), Punjabi (in PDF), Spanish (in PDF), and

The Student Financial Aid page of the Ministry of Advanced Education has information about applying for and checking the status of current loan applications. It also links to other possible funding sources related to education.

The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities has prepared a series of Help Sheets on disability benefits under the Employment and Assistance Legislation. You can view these sheets online and/or download and print them. They cover applications, appeals, rights, employment and medical benefits.

Prepared by Mark Redgwell

The following are a collection of resources for PWD advocacy that was prepared for The Law Centre Clinical Program in Victoria, BC and are reproduced here with The Law Centre's permission. These materials were designed primarily for law students in the clinical program who are new to Persons With Disabilities advocacy. Suggestions as to how to improve the Primer are most welcome and can be directed towards Mark Redgwell.

Two forms: a Diet Allowance Request Form (in PDF), incorporating the latest legislative criteria and making the eligibility requirements clear for doctors and clients and a Short-Term Nutritional Supplementation Request (in PDF). For more information read the Monthly Nutritional Supplement Benefit Suggested Application Guidelines and the Ministry guidelines which are available on this website.

Ministry of Human Resources
Regional Services Division

Practice Advisory #12: Intake Appointments for Applicants in Transition Housing

Effective Date: July 31, 2002

Purpose:

The purpose of this practice advisory is to explain the application process for women who are applying for BC Employment and Assistance due to leaving an abusive relationship. This advisory clarifies two possible application processes for women in this situation:

Kettle Friendship Society Advocacy Services has allowed us to put their checklist online. The Disability II Checklist covers health, MSDES, transportation, leisure and housing benefits that someone receiving full Disability Benefits from the Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security may be entitled to.

DISABILITY BENEFITS II CHECKLIST

Checklist courtesy of:
Kettle Friendship Society Advocacy Service
Vancouver, B.C., 2000
advocacy@intergate.bc.ca