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.