Reducing the effects of poverty is a key priority area for JF&CS. We are able to supplement the level of income received by eligible low-income community members to help fund their basic or emergency needs.

 

Any Jewish person living in the Greater Toronto Area whose income is derived from Welfare (Social Assistance), Family Benefits, Unemployment Insurance, Old Age Pension or low earnings may apply by calling JF&CS Intake at 416.638.7800, ext. 6234.

 

JF&CS provides case management alongside any financial assistance using the Sustainable Livelihoods framework. Sustainable Livelihoods is a strength-based approach that focuses on enhancing a person's resilience, asset building (e.g., gaining housing), and social inclusion in order to reduce their vulnerability.

 

A social worker can connect clients with other JF&CS or community services to reduce their vulnerability, offering them a wrap-around approach, specific to a client’s key concerns.

 

Our poverty reduction efforts have led to partnerships with numerous community agencies. Together, we have formed a Collective Impact table that is actively engaged in a poverty reduction strategy for the Jewish community. 

"Poverty isn’t just the lack of money; it’s the lack of everything –luxuries, social life, peace of mind, self. It’s forever thinking about money because there is never enough. It’s forever doing mental arithmetic as money gets moved in your head from one allocation to another as things come up. It’s having people not understand that you can’t do something simple like meet for coffee because the money simply isn’t there. It’s living with shoddy things that don’t work well because you can’t afford to replace them. It’s about feeling visible and judged as you wear your clothes until they are threadbare and your shoes until they fall apart - painfully aware of your uncut hair. It’s forever saying ‘no’ to your children and praying they don’t get sick as the money for their medication will have to come from somewhere. It’s constantly worrying about the future, yours and your children’s, until it looks so bleak that you just stop. It’s prioritizing the food you buy and not having the luxury of making the same choices as normal people; having to sacrifice quality, variety and ethics to make sure your family is fed. It’s watching the world go past you knowing you cannot afford to join in. Poverty feels like a weight, like you’re drowning and there is no land in sight."
--Current JF&CS Client