HEP Fund no longer deals in basic "Damage Deposit" or first/last month benefits in emergency situations for most clients who approach HEP these days. (I learned this, May 2009) I know you are thinking, "WTF??" and YOU ARE RIGHT TO THINK THIS WAY...services and agencies are failing more and more in this city.

Most people are being directed to CALGARY HOUSING authority for necessary damage deposit funds.

In my experience, Calgary Housing is one of the most inefficient services in the city. The wait list for white single males is well over 2yrs long

GOOD LUCK - but please keep TRYING if you are directed here...

PLEASE START contacting any sort of person who can ADVOCATE FOR YOU, write letters, start being as pro-active as you can about your situation...these agencies and services are failing the majority of people!!

KEEP TALKING - KEEP ASKING FOR HELP...

What marginalized Calgarians are going through in the "City of Wealth" amounts to "FINANCIAL ABUSE"

Jane and I are workin' on 'stuff'

First, two well-written hubs, dealing with Social Justice and Human Rights topics:

The State of Human Rights in Canada by Jane Taxpayer

The Poverty Line and Welfare: Shish Kabob Statistics - Part 1: The Poverty Line also by Jane Taxpayer

And check it out - looks like Jane Taxpayer is starting a series of hubs...I'll update as this series unfolds!

This is important stuff to know before you even approach gov't agencies, people!

Now for those government links...These are mostly from the Alberta Government website

The Homeless and Eviction Prevention Fund

HEP Fund - Frequently Asked Questions

Alberta Works Contact Numbers and Office Locations, provincewide

EI-Employment Insurance - FAQs & General Information

Government of Canada A to Z Index of Services

Basically - you NEED an actual EVICTION NOTICE from your landlord in order to apply for Homeless and Eviction Prevention funds. You have to have passed your date of payment whereby your landlord can begin to take action against you for late or no payment of rental funds - so that the landlord can issue an eviction document to you.

Take that, along with your bank account statement, all your pertinent ID, job record details if you have a job, and bring it to an Alberta Works office.

Calgary South/Central - Downtown

10th and 10th Office - 1021 10th Avenue S.W. Phone 403-297-2094

It's open Monday to Friday from 8:15am - 4:30pm and is closed from noon to 1pm)

Calgary North

One Executive Place - 1816 Crowchild Tr. N.W. Phone 403-297- 7200. This office is near McMahon Stadium, along Banff Tr. If you take the C-Train - get off at the Banff Trail platform.

It's open Monday to Friday 8:15 - 4:30pm, closed noon-1pm.

Calgary East

Radisson Centre District Office - 525 28 street S.E. Phone 403-297-1907

Open Mon - Fri, 8:15am-4:30pm, closed noon-1pm.

Calgary South/Central Canada - Alberta Service Centre

100, 6712 Fisher St. S.E. Phone 403-297-2020

Open Monday to Friday, 8:15am-4:30pm, closed noon-1pm.

For After Hours Emergency Assistance

PHONE

1-866-644-5135

Often Called 'a failure,' by conservative reports, Calgary's Homeless and Eviction Prevention Fund is, quite frankly, ticking off a LOT of people.

Both 'those who don't know' what it's like to be homeless or constantly on the brink of becoming homeless - and - those who DO KNOW the edge and beyond and who are TURNED DOWN BY HEP - are more than disgruntled over the fund.

The failure isn't the idea of the fund itself. It's a sorely needed fund but is a mode of assistance that was set up waaaaaaaay past the time of need for Calgarians. Sort of like the money is a pot to catch water in but the ENORMITY of the situation is like a hole in the side of the pot that organizers forgot to patch. Therefore, the water/money runs out - as far down as the hole reaches down the side.

As far as the water level - definitely some people have been assisted by the program, but a helluva patch is still needed to be sure that MOST of the low income Calgary population won't end up on the streets and needing to try and scoop water from the bottom portion of that same pot again.

Canadian government ideas that say 'too many people abuse the system, so it must be strictly limited' - help to compound the problem. Some of the criteria for qualifying for the fund are set way too high.

It should be HOUSING FIRST...then deal with preventative measures for health, mental wellness, addictions, etc., in order to KEEP PEOPLE HOUSED and keep helping them build their accountability and functionality in society.

HEP, when it DOES assist individuals - is merely cash in-hand, which immediately gets turned over to services that individuals require for housing.

A COMBINED effort on a large scale is needed here! With more than 2 government agencies on-hand!

OF COURSE a MONEY FUND is FAILING low income Calgarians...because they money gets turned RIGHT OVER to those who already have money...

PLUS - the government 'limitation' is set so high that INDEED - after being 'helped' by HEP, a person has NOTHING BUT a roof over their head.

Often (and this is NOT a terrible thing) funds are turned directly over to the landlord for a particular needy 'client' who accesses, qualifies for, and recieves HEP funds.

Forget about any other needs the person has.

If helped by HEP, then OTHER goverment services often WILL NOT ASSIST a HEP recipient - so, if a person needs food to go into the home - or furniture - or transportation - or medical products...the person has to hunt around like a skilled green beret for resources around Calgary that are NOT connected with government.

So is the fund really a failure?

Or is the general public being RIDICULOUS about both the needs of low income people and the way to solve low-income problems?

The fund is NECESSARY...but ALONE - it is definitely NO SOLUTION to low income and homelessness problems in the City of Calgary.

Do You have a remarkably stable job in or near Calgary and at least $4000 saved up in a savings account for emergencies?

If you do not have at least $4000 put away somewhere THEN YOU ARE AT RISK in Calgary of becoming homeless - if you lose your job.

The truth: jobs aren't stable all the time

The truth: if you get evicted, you'll need approximately $4000 to get set up in a different apartment.

An average cost for apartments in Calgary is around $900-$1600 per month. If you have to move, you'll need DOUBLE that amount to cover first months' rent plus security/damage deposit. High end cost, $3200 just for having a roof over your head.

Add 'hook up fees,' utility transfer fees, phone/cable/internet installation or transfers, and these will probably add up to somewhere between $400-$1000. Usually, when transferring services, if you've gotten behind a bit in payments, this is the time when your service providers will basically DELETE YOU/your account unless you pay up in full, so factor in on the high end here at $1000 for the transitions.

That leaves a few hundred dollars over for life-sustaining FOOD and things.

If you haven't been able to SAVE four grand - you might want to start attempting this, especially if you are currently disenchanted with your present job or feel, in any way, that your job position is unstable.

If you are one of the persons who believes that low income people aren't doing enough to prevent their own homelessness, RE-READ THE ABOVE...

You need to have a really, really REALLY GOOD JOB in Calgary at this point and time in order to even THINK ABOUT saving $4000 as a safety measure.

If you have a really, really, REALLY GOOD JOB in Calgary already and you DO NOT HAVE at least $4000 or $5000 set aside for your own 'potential emergency' and you are COMMENTING in derogatory fashion about homelessness and low-income-ness - perhaps it is time to take a really critical look at what you believe about homelessness and poverty.

Currently, the most INCAPABLE homeless victims are hitting the streets...

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO "Never thought it could happen to me" because "I WORK" and "I STILL HAVE A JOB"

People in Calgary who suddenly find themselves homeless while still maintaining a job are THE MOST VULNERABLE victims of homelessness, in my opinion. These people have never had to or rarely had to enter the 'low-income-cycle' of associations, intake appointments, searches for advocacy, searches for food and shelter.

If you DO NOT earn enough money to save a sum of $4000 as an emergency cushion, and your job or life circumstances are the least bit unstable, please start contacting agencies and find out what is out there for you in the event that you become homeless.

I have met more 'job capable' people in 2008 than ever before who are now on the streets or in shelters and who HAVE NO SKILLS or coping mechanisms for wrapping their head around their own homelessness. These people seem to be almost entirely 'helpless' for a few weeks longer than people accustomed to living connected with low-income services. It takes some time for 'shock value' to wear off of a person who has never slept on a floor with 40 other people and been denied access to a daily shower because 7am was a bad time slot for them to line up for hygiene details.

It takes fewer bad circumstances for one to become homeless in Calgary than it did 10 years ago. It takes more money to prevent individual homelessness, so if you haven't caught on to this yet, please think critically here and take measures - even if you feel you're 'doing okay' - to know what to do in case you become homeless yourself.

Homelessness or 'low-income' status can apply to anyone who does not make more than about $20, 000 per year.

If you do not make well over $1600 per month and are able to provide for your every need with this much money per month (impossible if your rent is even $1000 per month!), then YOU ARE AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.