CALGARY OFFICE
Suite 320, 110 Quarry Park Boul SO Calgary, Alberta T2C 3G3
Tél : 403.255.5808 Téléc : 403.385.4044
www.commissionstantementale.ca
@MHCC
OTTAWA OFFICE
Suite 600, 100 Sparks Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5B7 Tél : 613.683.3755 Téléc : 613.798.2989
Disability Programs
WHAT IS THE
ASPIRING WORKFORCE?
Those people who have been unable to enter the workforce, have been in and out of the workforce, or are attempting to return to work after being away for a lengthy period of time due to a mental health problem or illness.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
To learn how policy makers and others can help improve disability policies, check out The Aspiring Workforce: Employment and Income for People with Serious Mental Illness at www.mentalhealthcommission.ca.
The report includes an overview of the types of disability benefi t programs off ered provincially, as well as characteristics of these programs that could represent incentives and disincentives to employment.
FACTS
• There is evidence that links meaningful employment to better mental health.
• People living with mental illnesses who work use far fewer hospital and other health services.
And if they need to stop working, it can take a long time to undo the eff ects that working has on their eligibility for benefi t, leaving them in a precarious fi nancial situation.
CHALLENGES
• Current disability programs provide few incentives for returning to work.
• Once employed, a person’s fi nancial situation may actually worsen.
Signifi cant policy changes are needed to create disability programs that provide incentives for returning to work, yet remain as a safety net for those who do become employed or maintain their employment.
A disproportionate number of Canadians living with serious mental illnesses are under employed or unemployed, and many rely on disability programs for their livelihoods.
While many in The Aspiring Workforce want to have jobs just like anyone else, disability programs can act as a disincentive to becoming employed. Once people begin to work, their disability income may be clawed back and their health care benefi ts lost.
The information in this hand out has been cited from The Aspiring Workforce: Employment and Income for People with Serious Mental Illness. The publication was produced by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, in collaboration with the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, the University of Toronto and Queen’s University.
The views represented herein solely represent the views of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Production of this document is made possible through a fi nancial contribution from Health Canada.
