Voicemail jail

An Ontario Works (OW) recipient urgently needed help when her benefits were suspended because she submitted some paperwork late. She had been in and out of hospital, and needed drug coverage to continue her medical treatments, but could not reach her OW caseworker. When we contacted OW staff, we discovered that the woman’s caseworker had left the office indefinitely and no one had access to his voicemail, so her messages had not been retrieved. OW staff immediately contacted her to explain and arranged for temporary coverage so she could receive treatment.