In our efforts to improve population health, the Wellesley Institute has been working alongside countless inviduals and organizations over the past few months to inform budget-related decision-making at Toronto City Hall. The cuts and modifications to city-funded programs and services currently being debated both inside and outside city hall have critically important health and health […]
Economic inequality
Should social assistance help you to scrape by, or to get a good job?
Social assistance is about more than just providing enough money for people to survive. Social assistance should also work to ensure wider opportunities for people to find employment or pursue further training or education. Investing in individuals – from early childhood through high school, to college or university, and work training and experience – creates […]
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Toronto: Service Cuts Are Costly, Consider Our Health. Here’s How.
Rick Blickstead, CEO of Wellesley Institute, appeared before the budget committee today. He highlighted that the health and well-being of all Torontonians must be the priority of the City of Toronto when making important budget decisions. Budget decisions that result in the loss of secure jobs, reduce access to services that people rely on, and […]
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Can a basket of supports help to avoid poor health for people on social assistance?
My last blog about reforming social assistance in Ontario talked about building the vision of a health-enabling social assistance system. This was the cornerstone of our submission to the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario, for which we partnered with health leaders in Toronto. The basic problem is that poor people in […]
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Wellesley Institute’s Deputation on the 2012 Toronto Budget
The Wellesley Institute has been working alongside countless inviduals and organizations over the past few months to inform budget-related decision-making at Toronto City Hall in our efforts to improve population health. On Wednesday, December 7th, Wellesley Institute CEO, Rick Blickstead, will be delivering a deputation on the 2012 Toronto Budget to the City of Toronto’s Budget […]
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Working Rough, Living Poor
![working rough living poor](https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/workingrough-750x300.png)
The Wellesley Institute has a long been committed to strengthening community-based research and, as part of this commitment, we fund a number of CBR initiatives by grass-roots organizations across the city of Toronto. One such initiative is Access Alliance’s income security, race and health research work out of which “Working Rough, Living Poor: Employment and […]
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Building a Social Assistance System that Enables Good Health for All: Start from a Powerful Vision
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been blogging about the submission to the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario that the Wellesley Institute wrote as part of a collaboration of health leaders. So far, I’ve blogged about the submission itself and about how the social assistance system causes poor health. This […]
How the Social Assistance System Causes Poor Health
Income and health are inextricably linked. It is well documented that people with low income more likely to have poor health, whether measured by self-reported health, mental health, prevalence of chronic conditions, or many other indicators. In Ontario: Over three times as many people in the lowest income group report their health to be only […]
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Reviewing Social Assistance in Ontario
In 2010, the province the established Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario, led by Commissioners Francis Lankin and Munir A. Sheikh. The Commission’s Terms of Reference are to: Establish an appropriate benefit structure that reduces barriers and supports people’s transition into, and attachment within, the labour market Place reasonable expectations on, and […]
Toronto’s 2012 Budget: Issue Update, Reports and Resources
In our efforts to improve population health, the Wellesley Institute has been working alongside countless inviduals and organizations over the past few months to inform budget-related decision-making at Toronto City Hall. Earlier this year, the City of Toronto undertook a “Core Service Review.” The stated goal of the initiative was to address a budget shortfall […]
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