PART C -Decision under Appeal The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (Ministry) reconsideration decision dated October 30, 2014 which held that the Appellant is not eligible for a crisis supplement for clothing pursuant to section 57 of the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation (EAPWDR). The Ministry determined that the Appellant's request for the crisis supplement does not meet three criteria in section 57 of the EAPWDR as the Appellant did not establish that: 1. He requires the supplement to meet an unexpected need or obtain an item unexpectedly needed;and 2. He is unable to meet the expense or obtain the item because there are no resources available; and 3. Failure to meet the expense or obtain the clothing items will result in imminent danger to his physical health, or removal of a child under the Child, Family and Community Service Act. PART D -Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation -section 57 EAAT 003(10106101)
PART E -Summary of Facts The evidence before the Ministry at reconsideration was: • The Appellant's Request for Reconsideration dated October 5, 2014; and • The Ministry's decision summary dated September 10, 2014. In his Request for Reconsideration, the Appellant explained that his clothing was stolen when he left it alone in his building's laundry room for only as long as it took to use the washroom which is two feet away. It is a new laundry room, and more anti-theft than the other one in his building. His building has two sides and the side he is on has "normal living adults"; whereas, the other side is for "jail release and mental problems". The Appellant stated that he has gone to used clothing places, including two (named) charities, but he cannot wear second hand clothes due to his health conditions including Hepatitis C and MRSA, a "super bug" that causes him an allergic reaction to second hand clothing. In its decision summary, the Ministry stated that the Appellant is currently receiving disability assistance as a sole recipient. The Ministry reported that the Appellant's clothing had been stolen a year earlier, on the same date in 2013, when he left it unattended while using his accommodation's laundry facilities. The Ministry issued a crisis supplement for clothing on September 5, 2013. Also on that date, the Ministry requested the Appellant's third party administrator to caution him to not leave his laundry unattended as there is a reasonable danger of theft when he does not supervise his clothing while it is being washed. Subsequent to his Request for Reconsideration, the Appellant submitted a Notice of Appeal dated November 4, 2014 in which he stated that he has gone to used clothing outlets, but it is causing major stress to his health. He has Hepatitis C, bowel cancer, and MRSA which have required hospitalizations, and all of his funds have been used up every month for vitamins and food. The Appellant stated that he has lost bedding and all clothing (due to the theft of his laundry), and now he has to get "doctor's file letters" for the stress this has caused in his life. It took him five months to invest in runners which cost $67.52, and he is also in need of underwear, socks, and pants and he does not have money for these. The panel admits the statements in the Notice of Appeal under section 22(4)(b) of the Employment and Assistance Act as written submissions in support of the information and records that were before the Ministry at the time the decision being appealed was made. The panel finds that the submissions relate to the Appellant's need for clothing, availability of resources, and the health effects of not having clothing. EAAT003{10/06/01)
Neither the Appellant nor the Ministry attended the hearing. After establishing that both parties had been notified of the date, time and location of the hearing, the panel proceeded with the hearing under section 86(b) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation. The panel makes the following findings of fact: • The Appellant experienced a theft of clothing from his laundry room in September 2013 and September 2014. • The Appellant has several medical conditions including Hepatitis C and MRSA and uses his disability assistance for vitamins and food, and he recently purchased running shoes. EAA T003( 10/06/01)
P ART F Reasons f o r Pa nel D ecis ion Th e issu e to be d ecided i s the reasonablen ess of the Mini stry's reconsidera tion d ecision dat ed Oct ob er 3 0, 2 0 1 4, which hel d that t h e App ellant is not e lig ible f or a crisis s u pp leme n t f or c l othing pu rsu a n t to 5 7 of the EA P WDR. Th e Minis t ry deter min ed that the Appe llant's req uest di d n o t meet the criteri a fo r an un e x pected n eed and a la ck of resourc es t o meet t he need a s re q ui r ed by sectio n 57(1) (a). Th e Minis try a l so foun d tha t section 57 (1 )(b ) was n ot met b eca us e t he Ap pel lant's evid en c e did no t esta blis h that a failu re t o meet the expense or obtai n clothi ng items wi l l result in imminent d anger to his phys ical h ea lth o r remov al o f a ch i ld u nder t he Child , Fam i ly and Comm unity Servic e Act . The l eg islati on provi d e s : EAPWDR Crisis supp leme nt: Pu rsua nt to section 57(1) Th e m in ister may pro vide a cr is is s upp leme n t t o o r fo r a family u nit that is eligi b le fo r d isa b ility ass i s ta nce or hardship assis t ance if ( a ) the fam ily uni t o r a per s o n i n the family un it require s the supple ment to meet an unexpe c t ed exp ens e o r o b tain an item u nexp ectedly needed and is un ab le to me et t he expe nse or obt ain the ite m b eca use ther e a r e no resour ces av ailabl e to t he fami l y unit, an d (b ) th e m ini ste r c onsiders that failu re to m eet t he expense or obtain t he item will resu l t in ( i) imminent da nge r to t he ph y sical health of an y p er son in t he fami l y uni t , or ( ii) r e mov a l of a child u nder th e C h ild, F amily an d Comm u nit y Servi c e Act. (2 ) A c r i s i s supp le m e nt may be p rov id e d only fo r t he ca l endar m o n t h in w hic h the a pp lic ation or reque st f o r t h e s upplement is made. (3) A cr is is supplem en t may not be provided for t he purpose of obtain in g (a) a s up plem ent described in Sc hed u le C, or (b) an y othe r heal th ca re goo ds or serv i ces. (4) A cri s i s supp leme nt pro vided fo r food, she lter o r clo thin g is su b j e c t to the fol lowing limi t ations: (a) if for food, the maxi mum amou n t that may be provided in a calendar month is $20 for each person i n the fa mil y u nit, (b) if for shelter, the maximum amount that may be provided in a calendar month is the smaller of (i) the family unit's act ual shelter cost, and (ii) the maximum set out in section 4 of Schedule A or Table 2 of Schedule D, as applicable, fo r a family u n i t that m a tch es t he f a mily unit, a n d (c) if for c lothing, the a m ou nt that m ay be prov i de d must not exceed the smaller of (i) $100 for each person in the family unit in the 12 calendar month period preceding the date of application for the crisis supplement, and (ii) $400 for the family unit in the 12 calendar month period preceding the date of application for the c risis supplem en t. EAAT 003( 10/06/01)
Ap pellant's position In his Notice o f A p pea l , t he Appellant argued t hat he that he ha s no f u n ds d u e to g etting v i tamins , food, and him a l ot of stress due to his healt h pr o blem s. He argu laundry ro om and "d id n ot i n an y wa y lea v e (his) cloth th e w ashr oom . In his Re que st for R econsideration, the A p pell a nt argued that resources, h e cann ot wear seco nd hand cloth es b e having MRSA wh ich cause s a very b ad reac tion to many t a nt ibiotic s. M o r eov e r, th e negati vity and st ress f r o m ver y i ll w i th recurri ng hospital st ays, and he h a s maj Min i stry 's po si tio n T he Mini stry argu ed that t he Appel lant does n o t mee s e c tio n 57( 1)(a) of the EAPWDR becaus e: 1. With regard to an unexpec ted e xpens e, the Minist not con s id ered a n unexpec ted e ven t si n c e he e x p erie un de r th e sa me circumstances. M o re ove r, his th ird la undry un attended d ue to a reason able d anger of 2 . Wit h r egard t o hav ing no re sou rces to me et his n App e lla n t' s monthly di s a bili t y as sista n ce i s intend. ed t rece i ved two mo n th ly suppo rt ch eq u es s i nce the theft on that many communi ty resources are avail able in the App cloth ing to r epla ce the m issin g items . While t he A p clothing for medic al r ea sons, he pro v i ded no confirmat 3. The Min is try further argue d that there is insufficie clothing in add iti on to clothin g he c ou ld obtai n with his s will result in imminent danger to the Appellant's physical health or removal of a child, pursuant to section 57(1)(b) of the EAPWDR. Panel's decision The panel notes that fill criteria in section 57 of the EAPWDR must be met in order for the Ministry to pro v i de a cri s is supplement for clothing. The Appellant meets the criterion of being eligible for disa bility assistance pursuant to section 57(1) . The panel finds th at the Ministry reasonably determined that three other criteria are not met EAAT 003( 10/06/01) [ has done everythin g to loo k for us ed clo t hin g; new runn ers; a n d t hat the situa tion is ca using ed tha t he d id st a y with his cl o t hin g in th e ing alo ne more tha n t wo minutes" while he us ed a l though he acce ssed used clothing cause the y ca u se him an allerg ic react ion due to h ings and cann ot be tre ated wit h app ly i ng for a c r isis gr a nt for cl othing m ake him or h ealt h pr oblems fro m an y kin d of st ress. t the criteri a for the crisi s supplement unde r ry a r gue d th at the Appell ant's nee d f or c loth ing is nced the t h eft o f hi s c lo t hi n g ex act ly a ye ar ago pa rt y administrator cautioned h im to n ot le av e his t h eft . eed f or c lot hing , the M i nistry ar g u ed tha t the o cov er it e ms such as clothing, and he has Se p te mb er 5th. The Mini s try f urther arg ued el lant's ar e a to offer free or inexpensiv e pell an t st ate d he cann ot wear se cond hand ion fro m a physic ian to v erify his con dit io n. nt informa tion to establish t hat f ailure to obtai n up port funds t h rou gh commu nity r esources,
S e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) ( a ) m e e t a n u n e x p e c t e d e x p e n s e o T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e M i n i s t ry r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m s u b m i t t e d t h a t h i s n e e d f o r c l o t h i n g w a s d u e t o t h e t h a t t h e t h e f t w a s n o t u n e x p e c t e d b e c a u s e t h e A p w h e n h e l e ft h i s l a u n d r y u n a t t e n d e d . T h e A p p e l l a n o n l y l e f t t h e m f o r a c o u p l e o f m i n u t e s t o u s e t h e n e h i s b u i l d i n g i s m o r e t h e f t p r o o f . H o w e v e r , t h e e v i d u n a t t e n d e d , a n d h e h a d b e e n c a u t i o n e d b y h i s t h i r t h e r e f o r e f i n d s t h a t t h e M i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m s u p p l e m e n t f o r c l o t h i n g w a s n o t u n e x p e c t e d . S e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) ( a ) u n a b l e t o m e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o a v a i l a b l e t o t h e f a m i l y u n i t : T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e M i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m o f r e s o u r c e s . T h e e v i d e n c e i s t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t r e t h e f t a n d t h e s e c h e q u e s a r e i n t e n d e d t o c o v e r t h e a r g u e d t h a t h e d i d a c c e s s c o m m u n i t y r e s o u r c e s b r e a c t i o n f r o m h a v i n g M R S A , h e d i d n o t p r o v i d e a n c o n d i t i o n . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t i t i s t h e r e f o r e r e a s o v e r i f i c a t i o n o f a n a l l e r g y t o u s e d c l o t h i n g . S e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) ( b ) f a i l u r e t o m e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o p h y s i c a l h e a l t h o r r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d u n d e r t h e C h i T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e M i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m e s t a b l i s h t h a t f a i l u r e t o o b t a i n c l o t h i n g w i l l r e s u l t i n r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d . W i t h r e g a r d t o t h e A p p e l l a n t ' s i n c l u d i n g M R S A w h i c h c a u s e s h i m a n a l l e r g i c r e a c h o s p i t a l i z a t i o n s f o r h i s h e a l t h c o n d i t i o n s , a n d t h a t h c a u s i n g m a j o r s t r e s s t o h i s h e a l t h . T h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t n o n e o f t h e A p p e l l a n t ' s s u b m h e a l t h i n t h a t t h e r e i s n o e v i d e n c e t h a t h e w o u l d f a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t . T h e A p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h a t h e n o h a s c a u s e d o n ( h i s ) l i f e " ; h o w e v e r , h e h a s n o t p r o v t h e r e i s n o e v i d e n c e r e g a r d i n g r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d ; d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e a s a s o l e r e c i p i e n t ( n o d e p e n d C o n c l u s i o n T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e M i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m n o t e l i g i b l e f o r a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t f o r c l o t h i n g p u r s t h e a n e l c o n f i r m s t h e M i n i s t ' s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )r o b t a i n a n i t e m u n e x p e c t e d l y n e e d e d : i n e d t h a t t h i s c r i t e r i o n i s n o t m e t . T h e A p p e l l a n t t h e f t o f o f h i s l a u n d r y ; h o w e v e r , t h e M i n i s t r y f o u n d p e l l a n t ' s c l o t h e s h a d b e e n s t o l e n t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r t s u b m i t t e d t h a t h e d i d s t a y w i t h h i s c l o t h e s a n d a r b y w a s h r o o m ; a n d t h a t t h e n e w l a u n d r y r o o m i n e n c e i s t h a t h e n o n e t h e l e s s l e f t h i s l a u n d r y d p a r t y a d m i n i s t r a t o r n o t t o d o s o . T h e p a n e l i n e d t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t ' s n e e d f o r a c r i s i s b t a i n t h e i t e m b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e n o r e s o u r c e s i n e d t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t d i d n o t d e m o n s t r a t e a l a c k c e i v e d t w o s u p p o r t c h e q u e s s u b s e q u e n t t o t h e c o s t o f c l o t h i n g . F u r t h e r , w h i l e t h e A p p e l l a n t u t c a n n o t w e a r u s e d c l o t h i n g d u e t o a n a l l e r g i c y i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m a p h y s i c i a n t o v e r i f y h i s n a b l e f o r t h e M i n i s t r y t o r e q u i r e m e d i c a l b t a i n t h e i t e m w ill r e s u l t i n i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o l d , F a m i l y a n d C o m m u n i t y S e rv i c e A c t : i n e d t h a t t h e r e i s i n s u f f i c i e n t i n f o r m a t i o n t o i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e A p p e l l a n t ' s h e a l t h o r h e a l t h , h e d e s c r i b e d s e v e r a l m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n s t i o n t o u s e d c l o t h i n g . H e s t a t e d t h a t h e r e q u i r e s a v i n g t o a s k f o r a c r i s i s g r a n t f o r c l o t h i n g i s i s s i o n s i n d i c a t e a n i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o h i s p h y s i c a l c e a n i m m e d i a t e d a n g e r i f h e d i d n o t r e c e i v e t h e w h a s t o g e t " d o c t o r ' s f i l e l e t t e r s t o t h e s t r e s s t h i s i d e d a n y i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m a p h y s i c i a n . F u r t h e r , t h e M i n i s t r y n o t e d t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e s a n t s ) . i n e d b a s e d o n t h e e v i d e n c e , t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t i s u a n t t o s e c t i o n 5 7 o f t h e E A P W D R . A c c o r d i n g l y , e c i s i o n .
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