ReachableNo money, no food, power about to be cut, nowhere to sleep
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.
Guides
Plain-language guides to the money, discounts and services you may already qualify for in Victoria, BC. No jargon, no sign-up, no cost.
Every number in these guides comes from a government or organisation page we read on the date shown, and every guide lists its sources at the bottom. Amounts change — usually each January — so if a guide looks old, phone the number on it and check.
Not sure where to start?
Two good ways in:
- Read Start here: how the benefits system fits together — it maps the whole thing on one page and tells you which door to knock on first.
- Or answer a few questions and let us suggest programs: use the benefits finder.
You can also just phone us and we will read any of this out to you, at your pace.
Or pick a topic
All guides
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Start here
Start here: how the benefits system fits together
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.
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The Disability Tax Credit: the one form that opens the rest
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.
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The RDSP: up to $1,000 a year, even if you never save a dollar
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.
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The Canada Disability Benefit: up to $204.20 a month
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.
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Getting the PWD designation in BC
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.
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Free help filing your taxes — and why filing unlocks the money
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.
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How to get cheap home internet, and a cheaper phone
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.
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Getting around Victoria when travel is hard
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.
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Shared e-scooters and e-bikes: discounts, and what they mean if you have a disability
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.
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Help paying for dentists, prescriptions and glasses
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.
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Help with rent, and help changing your home so you can stay in it
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.
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Days out: how to stop paying twice for one outing
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.
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Travelling further than the bus: planes, ferries, trains and medical trips
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.
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Wheelchairs, walkers, hearing aids and glasses: borrow it before you buy it
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.
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Work and school: you can earn more than you think
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.
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Who to call in Victoria
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.
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Health benefits for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people
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.
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If you look after someone: money, respite, and help for you
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.
No guides matched what you typed. Try a different word, or use the benefits finder instead. You can also phone us and ask — a person will look it up with you.
How these guides are written
We write these the way we would explain something to a friend at a kitchen table.
- Every figure is traced to a source. If we could not verify a number, we say "check the current amount" instead of guessing.
- We say when a programme does not exist or has ended. Sending you chasing something that is gone wastes your time and your bus fare.
- We tell you what to say. Most guides include the words to use on the phone, because that is usually the hard part.
- We say what to do when the answer is no. A lot of first answers are wrong, and a lot of denials get overturned.
Found something out of date or wrong? Please tell us — email hello@reachablesociety.ca or phone the Line. Corrections from people who have actually been through the process are the most valuable thing we get.
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