Our guest speaker for today was Melissa Maxwell (Director of the Voluntary Trust Fund). The Voluntary Trust Fund assists individuals that have income and require support and skills to manage the limited resources of funds that they receive. They do budgeting for people that require help with cash flow management. Through the program, an individuals income is paid directly to the trust. This assists the individual with budgeting as well as insure security for the individual. 178 individuals were served in 2018. These individuals were all recipients of one of the following : Ontario Works, ODSP, OAS/GIS. Of this group, 63 were female. Of the 178 cases from 2018, 128 have carried over, 54 new have been added, and 47 have successfully moved on. Many cases are a result of the passing of a spouse passing away and the survivor having reduced income as well as having never been (typically) the individual that handled the finances. Currently there are 22 seniors/retirees. Some have experienced some form of elder abuse. Most funding comes from a private foundation. The balance is from the operating budget of The Bridges. The Trust is registered through the Office of the Public Guardian. They have a budget of $2.00 million of which 65% is from the region while 35% must be self raised. This is a very worthwhile program that provides valuable assistance to those that can require guidance. |
