Re: "It's tough to live on disability pension," Aug. 3.
A disabled person spends 83 per cent of their pension on housing - try to find a one-bedroom apartment in Victoria for less than $750 a month. Add to this food, $200 a month; hydro, $25 a month; basic cable and telephone, $60 a month; and the total is $1,035, running at deficit even before before adding a haircut, washing powder, etc. And, oh, is a disabled person permitted the luxury of renting a video?
Let's acknowledge the provincial disability benefit does include free public transport, which is a truly valuable asset. However, disability is not temporary - it is for life. One does not suddenly become "able."
Few disabled people can work. Can you imagine living your whole life on $906 a month?
The provincial disability benefit is hidden, rarely mentioned in the public eye. It was last increased about five years ago by $50 a month. As it stands, it is insufficient to cover the basic necessities of life, and the effect is to compound suffering of those who already have enough to cope with.
As caring citizens, we need to do something about it. I propose to campaign my MLA.
Incidentally, I am not disabled, nor receiving any kind of government benefit - just a concerned citizen.
Judy Bogod
Victoria
