That and Canada Student Loans gave me an ability to go back to school. I was very fortunate. In preparing for today, I was thinking back to the programs I was able to take advantage of, which largely don't exist anymore.
The waiting list for housing is awful and often the housing is awful. Sorry, but even within the non-profit sector for my community, I still have people who are paying rent in rooming houses and boarding houses who are kicked out at 8:30 in the morning and not allowed to return until dinnertime. That's still going on in this city. Their rights are being totally taken away. They are stripped of any rights.
When it comes to mental health or addiction, having a mental health label is probably the worst label a person can have, and you're probably guaranteed to face more discrimination in employment and in housing. You can't even get a general practitioner to take you as a patient. I get calls from family members across this country. Some have moved from province to province trying to get care for their children who have mental health difficulties. GPs just won't take them on. There's a myriad of issues.
I know how much I benefited from those programs and I'm nothing special. I know other people who benefited back 28 or 29 years ago. We need to go back. I felt really supported going to school. I was a lone mother. I had wonderful housing. I had a wonderful community.