Apr
26
By Carole James
Springtime in our community, and I hope you've had time this season to enjoy the gorgeous canopies of cherry blossoms, while splashing through rain puddles!
Our office continues to be busy with a wide range of issues this spring.
VIHA's two announcements in March of new housekeeping and food service contracts at the Royal Jubilee Hospital and a number of long-term care sites on the lower island are of great concern. The change in providers means that over 550 workers will receive lay-off notices, with no guarantee that they will be rehired.
Critical to good quality seniors' care is stable, supportive staff. I saw that first-hand at Glengarry in Victoria where my grandparents were cared for - one of the long-term care sites where workers are being laid off. This announcement is a blow to quality care, and to staff, seniors, and their families. They deserve better!
My Community Office sees people everyday who deserve better. We are seeing more and more women suffering from mental health issues who are falling through the cracks: being evicted from social housing, not receiving the mental health supports they need, and ending up on their own and often on the streets.
We're also seeing more people on income assistance who are in need of advocacy. My office helped one constituent, "Greg," a single father who has been on income assistance after being injured. Greg was abruptly, and without a full explanation, told his income assistance was ending. My office, along with the Together Against Poverty Society, was able to ensure that Greg was aware of his rights, and we supported him through his appeal, which ended successfully.
The stories that we're hearing everyday at my office highlight the need to put in place supports for people to get back on their feet, and to ensure that existing systems are respectful of all.
My office is also hearing from many individuals who are facing affordability issues: rising BC Hydro rates, higher ferry fares, increased MSP premiums, rate increases for long-term care homes, rising tuition fees, and higher everyday costs due to the HST. All of these increases serve to decrease the affordability of our community, and affect those on fixed or limited incomes the most.
My office was able to help a constituent reduce one major expense, however. We received a call from "Karen," a constituent who had been living abroad teaching English, and who had terminal cancer, forcing her to move back to Canada for treatment. Being low-income, Karen's family was faced with severe financial hardship, as Karen had to begin cancer treatments immediately, but also had to wait three months for MSP coverage. Our office was able to get Karen's case reviewed, and we were successful in getting her covered by MSP. This has reduced much stress for a family going through so much.
Apart from the assistance we give to constituents on a continuing basis, there are exciting things going on at my Community Office. Recently we started hosting a free, drop-in legal clinic every Tuesday evening at 5:00pm, which is proving to be a great success. I'm also proud to support a local business, Fernwood Coffee Company, by purchasing the 100% fair-trade, organic and locally-roasted coffee for our staff and volunteers. The next few months promise to be interesting, with the Legislature reconvening and the referendum on the HST set for June. In the meantime my staff and I will continue to work hard serving the community. I hope you'll drop by to say "hello."