Province commits $300 more per month for those in need of disability support

The Nova Scotia government announced Thursday that it is creating a new funding stream to support income assistance clients with a disability or serious medical condition.

Beginning in April 2024, the Income Assistance Disability Supplement will provide an additional $300 per month to people on income assistance who are not currently in the Disability Support Program.

"We want people with disabilities to be better able to meet their needs, and this investment is another step in that direction," said Department of Community Services Minister Trevor Boudreau.

The disability supplement will benefit more than 60 per cent of recipients of the Employment Support and Income Assistance program, he said, which equates to about 15,000 people.Clients will begin receiving the increase automatically.

Eligibility for theEmployment Support and Income Assistance program is based onfinancial eligibility criteria where possible, a spokesperson for the province said in an email, while theDisability Support Programclients must meetfinancial eligibility criteria.

Fighting discrimination

The department saidit's also taking steps to help fight discrimination against Nova Scotians with disabilities, including by creating new positions in the Disability Support Program to help people living with disabilities to navigate the community resources that are available.

It will also fund the expansion and modernization of the technology used in that program, according to a news release, andanalyze addictions and mental health programs to determine how to better support people with intellectual and mental health disabilities living in the community.

"About 63 per cent of people on income assistance actually have a disability," said Boudreau. "There is a criteria in place in order to be accepted into the Disability Support Program and if they don't meet that criteria then they would definitely fall under this program."

The new funding stream represents an annual investment of $53.3 million, the release said.

Series of initiatives

The funding is part of a larger series of initiatives planned for the next several years in an effort totransform the Disability Support Program and improve the lives of people living with disabilities in the province.

The background to Thursday's announcement goes backto 2014, when three people with disabilities and the Disability Rights Coalition sued the provinceover their right to live in the community.

Seven years later, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal said that people with disabilities were being treated unfairly by the provincial government.

In an attempt to fix that, the coalitionand the Province agreed to work together, culminatingin a report that was released earlier this year.