At age 70, Priscilla came to Project Genesis for help with her Old Age Pension application. At the time, she was going to a temp agency every morning, but more often than not there was no work for her. The small amount she earned enabled her to buy a bus pass and contribute a bit to the household expenses of the friend who had taken her in. Priscilla’s pension application was challenging: it involved proving her years of Canadian residence and accounting for a period when she returned to her country of origin to care for her ailing mother. Priscilla made over ten visits to the Storefront in the course of completing the application, coming in each time she received a new document by mail.

“For my pension, we gave a lot of papers and they kept saying they want this and they want that. In the end everything worked out. I got my pension for the years that passed.” Now Priscilla is able to pay rent and only goes to work if she feels equal to it.

Through the Storefront, Priscilla attended a Social Housing Clinic and has joined the Housing Rights Committee. As a member of the committee, she says “I am learning a lot and I am meeting a lot of different people. Seeing different things and learning makes a lot of difference in my life.” She is enthusiastic about her involvement:  “Lots of people need help….I like to help people.  As long as we are alive, there is a lot to accomplish.”

Priscilla, Housing Rights Committee volunteer