Seniors and poverty: An ongoing problem — and some don’t get support they’re entitled to

Hamilton non-profit leaders say seniors who live alone continue to face challenges accessing government supports.

One of the ways they are hoping to address that is with free tax filing programs, which will help them get the financial aid they are eligible for.

We recognized that there were a number of people that weren't accessing benefits that they were entitled to," said Kim Martin, the executive director for the Social Planning and Research Council (SPRC).

In Hamilton, senior poverty has been consistently higher than the provincial average, according to a 2013 report by Hamilton's SPRC. Where the senior poverty rate in Ontario has declined over the decades, Hamilton's rate has stayed relatively the same, and possibly increased partly due to the increasing senior population in the city, according to the report. Although supports exist to help seniors access financial benefits such as Old Age Security, the pandemic has aggravated the challenges.

In 2017, a Financial Empowerment project was started as a collaboration led by the SPRC to help local residents of all ages access government financial security programs. One of the ways the project helps is by offering free tax filing clinics.

Seniors make up more than half of their clients, said Martin, who noted that many of the benefits rely on individuals to file their taxes. The pandemic has made access to help harder, with fewer tax centres open and fewer in-person services during the pandemic, she said.

But Martin said the SPRC has been offering assistance over the phone and asking people to leave their documents in a drop box throughout the pandemic. Since January, she said 429 seniors have been helped.

Seniors who'd like assistance can call 365-366-1767.

St. Matthew's House and Catholic Family Services of Hamilton also help with filing taxes and completing paperwork to access benefits, among other things. One of the challenges they help their senior clients navigate is using technology.

They don't know the system, they've never had a bank account before, they've never filed their taxes," said Renee Wetselaar, executive director of St. Matthew's House, which provides a variety of other supports for seniors.

Language can be another barrier, said Cindy Kinnon, executive director of Catholic Family Services of Hamilton. The group has staff who speak other languages, such as French and Mandarin.

Maria Iqbal's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on aging issues.