Who can apply for Emergency Assistance?

General Rule: To apply for emergency assistance, someone must:

Not be a tourist or visitor
Not have enough money, assets, or access to credit to meet their basic needs and to have shelter
Have made reasonable efforts to access other available sources of funding
Not currently be receiving another form of social assistance (e.g., Ontario Works, ODSP, etc.)
- Note: If your client is already receiving social assistance but is faced with an emergency, they might be able to get additional funding from their program through a discretionary benefit. Help them contact their caseworker to see if they are eligible for this.
Not currently be serving a period of ineligibility
Not received emergency assistance in the past 6 months. However, there are some exceptions to this requirement for women who are entering an interval/transition home for abused women and for refugee claimants waiting to hear if they are eligible for a referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.