Media
Press Release - (For immediate release)
Personal Needs Allowance: Advocating for an Increase
TORONTO, June 14, 2001 - The Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office (PPAO), an arms-length program of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, was established in 1983 to protect the rights and entitlements of patients in provincial psychiatric facilities. Since that time the PPAO has been actively involved in protecting the legal and civil rights of patients in these facilities by providing advocacy and rights advice services.
The Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) is to ensure that individuals living in provincial psychiatric facilities, long-term care facilities, shelters, hostels and other specific types of housing meet their incidental costs other than those provided by the facility. These costs may include clothing, shoes, hair cuts, hygiene products, nutritional supplements and other items related to basic comfort and quality of life. The current PNA is $112.00 per month. This translates into $3.75 per day. The PPAO is advocating for this to be increased to $160.00 or $5.30 per day so that it better reflects the actual amount required to purchase these goods and services.
Vahe Kehyayan, Director, PPAO says that "increasingly we are told by our clients that the current amount is not adequate to meet their basic needs and that they are experiencing financial hardship before the end of each month. The amount of money that they receive has neither kept pace with inflation nor been offset by real cost of living increases." The PPAO believes that providing individuals with the means to purchase the basic necessities of life provides them with a level of dignity and self-respect.
The PPAO, in keeping with its mandate, is assisting its clients to self-advocate for an increase in the PNA provided by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Since January 2001 many individuals have written to the Minister of Community and Social Services asking for him to review and support an increase in the PNA to $160.00. Most recently, individuals have started to contact their Members of Provincial Parliament to see if they too would assist in advocating for an increase.
The PPAO believes that after more than a decade without an increase, it is time for the PNA to be increased to $160.00. The PPAO, in its efforts to have the PNA increased, has received support from consumer-survivor organizations, clients and their families, concerned individuals and other social service agencies. There is broad-based support for such an increase in order to allow individuals adequate finances to meet their basic needs.
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For further information contact:
David Simpson or Linda Carey
Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office
1-800-578-2343
Background information available at: www.ppao.gov.on.ca
