https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/index.html Plain-language guides to the benefits and services seniors and people with disabilities in Victoria, BC can claim. en-ca Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/work-and-school.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/work-and-school.html If you get BC disability assistance, you can earn $16,200 a year from work before your cheque is reduced — and you always keep every dollar of your wages. There are also grants that pay for school, and a program that buys the equipment you need to work. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/who-to-call-in-victoria.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/who-to-call-in-victoria.html A directory of the Victoria organisations that help, sorted by what you need instead of what they call themselves. Every phone number here was checked, and most of these places are free. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/travelling-with-a-disability.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/travelling-with-a-disability.html On a flight inside Canada, the seat for a support person who travels to help you is free of fare — that is federal law, and it is worth hundreds of dollars a trip. VIA Rail is free too, BC Ferries gives half price, and there are programs that pay for medical travel. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/start-here.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/start-here.html The benefits system is a set of doors, and some doors only open once you have opened another one first. This page shows you the order to do things in so you are not sent in circles. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/shared-scooters-and-bikes.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/shared-scooters-and-bikes.html People ask us about Lime scooters. Victoria does not have a shared e-scooter — Lime rents e-bikes here. If you have a disability, a low income or a BC Bus Pass, Lime Access cuts the price by 80 per cent, but for most readers a $45 bus pass still beats it. This page also explains how to report a bike blocking a sidewalk or curb cut. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/rdsp.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/rdsp.html If you have the Disability Tax Credit and a low income, the government puts up to $1,000 a year into a savings plan for you — with no deposit of your own. You can also claim up to 10 past years. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/pwd-designation.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/pwd-designation.html PWD is BC's disability designation. It pays a single person $983.50 a month plus up to $500 for rent, adds a free bus pass and dental and glasses coverage, and lets you earn $16,200 a year from work. If you are refused, free advocates in Victoria will take the appeal with you. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/indigenous-health-benefits.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/indigenous-health-benefits.html First Nations and Inuit people can get dental care, glasses, medicines, equipment, rides to appointments and counselling paid for. If you live in BC and have status, the First Nations Health Authority runs it, not the federal program — and you have to enrol. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/housing-and-home-changes.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/housing-and-home-changes.html If you are 60 or older and rent, BC Housing can send you money toward the rent every month — and most people who qualify never apply. If a disability makes your home hard to live in, BC Housing can pay up to $20,000 for ramps, grab bars and a walk-in shower. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/getting-around-victoria.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/getting-around-victoria.html If you are on disability assistance your bus pass is free, and a low-income senior pays $45 for a whole year. There is also a door-to-door bus, half-price ferries, an accessible parking permit, and up to $500 a year back on fuel tax. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/free-tax-help.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/free-tax-help.html Filing a tax return is the switch that turns on almost every income-tested benefit, from the Guaranteed Income Supplement to the Canada Disability Benefit. Trained volunteers in Victoria file it for free, including past years you never filed. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/equipment-and-aids.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/equipment-and-aids.html The Red Cross in Victoria lends walkers, wheelchairs and bathroom aids by donation, and BC pays for wheelchairs, hearing aids and glasses if you are on assistance. Never buy first — approval has to come before the purchase. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/emergency-help-this-week.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/emergency-help-this-week.html For the week when there is nothing left. Who to phone today in Victoria for food, a bed, your power, your medicine and your rent — and the words to use when you ask. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/dtc.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/dtc.html The Disability Tax Credit lowers the income tax you owe, and it is the door to the Canada Disability Benefit, the RDSP and other programs. There is no income test, and you can claim back up to 10 years. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/dental-and-drugs.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/dental-and-drugs.html The Canadian Dental Care Plan covers dental work for people with no private insurance and a family income under $90,000. Fair PharmaCare cuts what you pay for prescriptions — but only if you register, and most people never do. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/days-out.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/days-out.html If you need someone with you to go out, you get charged two admissions for one outing. The Access 2 Card gets your support person in free or cheap, and the LIFE pass gets you into local pools and rec centres for nothing. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/cheap-internet.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/cheap-internet.html If you get BC disability assistance, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, or the maximum Canada Child Benefit, home internet can cost $10 to $20 a month instead of the regular price. Here is who runs each program in Victoria, and exactly what to say when the first agent has never heard of it. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/caring-for-someone.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/caring-for-someone.html Most care in Canada is given by family who are unpaid and unasked. There is more help than you have been told about: paid EI leave, a tax credit, respite, and a disability amount that can transfer onto your own tax return. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/canada-disability-benefit.html https://reachable.prundaru.ca/guides/canada-disability-benefit.html A monthly federal payment of up to $204.20 for people aged 18 to 64 who have the Disability Tax Credit and a low or modest income. Applying can also bring back pay for up to 24 months. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000