Did you know that the Government of Canada offers programs that can help someone with a disability attain employment? It’s true — the Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program and the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities were designed to cause individuals with disabilities to find fulfilling careers. Have you heard of these programs?
The Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program
The Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program (DVRP) exists to help those who receive Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits (CPP) return to work. (Read more about the Canada Pension Plan at http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/cpp/disability/disabilitypension.shtml).
What are the benefits of the DVRP?
There are many good reasons to want to be a part of the Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program. People who are in the program receive guidance about returning to work and meeting their goals, learn skills that are vital to finding an ideal job, obtain teaching on “job search skills,” and more. All of these benefits combined can help people in the DVRP find the jobs they desire.
Are you a recipient of Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits? Do you want to return to work?
If so, learn more about the Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program by calling 1-800-277-9914 (TTY: 1-800-255-4786).
The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities was designed to help organizations develop “activities” that individuals with disabilities can take part in. This fund was also created to “help people with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and maintain employment or self-employment.” How? By providing funding for national, regional, or local projects.
The funding supplied by the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities assists organizations in developing “accessible activities” for people with disabilities. Are you interested in your organization developing more disability-accessible activities? Are you simply wanting to learn more about the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities? If so, visit http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/of/index.shtml.
Are you a Canadian with a disability? Are you hoping to become employed soon?
If so, check out the Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program and the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. These programs may be able to supply you with the resources you need to find (and keep) a great job.
Sources:
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/of/index.shtml
Image made available by Benson Kua on Flickr through Creative Commons License.
*Please note: All research for this article is compiled from direct and third party sources. Mention of programs, organizations and companies does not imply support of The National Benefit Authority. Pictures are for creative purposes only; they are not intended to sell or promote products for the NBA and belong to the accredited individual, organization or company.
Let’s Talk About It
Have you lost work due to a disability? Would you like to become employed again?
Are you interested in receiving help from either of the Government programs mentioned in this post?
I would like to comment that I am eligible for CPPD. My employer has an insurance company for Disability and my rate is based only on my part time permanent job of 20 hrs per week & not on all the additional 15 hours per week that I worked oncall. I have to go through the employers insurance company and so I get 60% of 20 hrs/week. With that I have to pay my medical & dental, so I net $400 month. The other kicker is that I am not allowed to earn any income, unlike PWD, or even perhaps CPPD. This seems grossly unfair to me as I would be better off on government programs rather than through this insurer, but I don’t have a choice.
They will not let me post my reply. That’s the Gov’t for you
It takes a verry verry long time to get any form of disability from the Gov’t. Then you have to appeal and that takes more months. When you recieve it you can do certain things and other things they deduct from your check. These people could never live off the moneys that people make on disability checks . They do not want people with disabilitys to get ahead not one bit. Unfortunatly we can’t do anything about it. That’s our Gov’t.
If you are a recipient of ODSP and CPP and do manage to get a job I think it is very unfair that they take 1/2 of your net check! The paperwork that you have to fill out every month is a nusance and most of thetime you come up in a deficit position with your check being cut. The realistic cost of living is much more than what is allowed and there are things you need which the ODSP will not help you with expenses such as car repairs or gas or car insurance or even an airconditioner. In my situation it would be a genuine hardship to have to rely on public transportation for physical reasons. The fact that half of your earned net income is cut is a deterent to put the effort to work when you factor in the cost of gas, wear and tear on your vehicle etc. I wonder if the people who came up with these rules and figures for what a handicapped person should try to survive on have tried to live on that amount themselves. A person with a disability has enough to deal with in life that it makes it hard to get through the day without having red tape kill the incentive to want to put the effort in if you know you can only earn very little and have your efforts cut in half. There should be a better way to help the disabled to have more money to live on. Is there any other source for more financial help?
I am a male dealing with a disability that impedes my current training of the field I am in. I work in the Childcare sector and will be going back to school for upgrading. But with my employment skills / experiences the course in which I am enrolled in is just as limiting for me upon graduation. I have gone through Second Career, but when doing this via the local Vocational Resource Centre, I found they were of little help to me in choosing a career that may be better suited for me, due to my physical disabilities. I think there needs to be more resources for people with disabilities to access! Is there a place where one can go for support for persons with disabilities?
i want to job in canada i am diploma mechanical engg i have 1year of experiance of service engg in atlas copco air compressar in stronghold corporation in baroda gujarat india.
I am currently employed by a social service sector job for the last 5 years. I am experiencing discrimination in my job because of my disability. The discrimination is in the form of not being able to get full time work at the agency. The employer’s director does not like me and they use all kinds of methods to keep me from moving forward. I have tried to raise my concerns with my union but nothing ever happens. The discrimination is affecting my health and I don’t know how much longer I can work there. They are trying to get me to quit. I will give one example of how they are trying to get me to quit. I work in a shelter for homeless youth, the youth attacks me and assaults me physically and threatens to kill me. The police have to remove the youth from the building. I raise concerns about my safety to the co-coordinator but the youth is allowed back into the shelter. The youth is very angry at me and I have work under constant stress wondering it I will be attacked again. This is one of many over the course of the years of employment. Do you have any advise.I want the discrimination to stop and just be able to do my job.
Not sure where you live but read up on Occupational Health and Safety,
you can refuse to work if you are in danger and receive your pay. There is a process to follow for this though.
I have been bring for 3 yrs to get back into the work sector. But at 52 and MS, Diverticulosis and dyslexia. It is real hard to do so. I have a background with adult education. and training. Im up to date with Word excel and power point and the Mac versions. But it is the age and medical conditions that are hard to work throw with. Tried with the federal government. But with the resent restructuring, and I don’t speak french. I don’t have a chance.
What a joke. I worked for the federal gov. and when I developed a disability despite having reports from WSIB, Health Canada and four doctors the accommodations I required were never implemented, and I was harassed until I left and went on disability insurance.
This is bs that the govt wants to help! I have been on it since 1991 I would much rather do somethng productive because you can’t live off what you paid into thats for sure …so where is this passion portion of them truly wanting to help!!! I ask!
I struggle with my disability daily. I have periods of time where I am able to work, but then stress and my illness makes me so tired and in so much pain, I cannot focus enough to be a good employee. I am currently on Social Assistance disability status pw2, and have had struggles to get Canada Pension, which would be taken off dollar for dollar anyways. Now I am going to be allowed to earn up to 800 per month according to our Provincial Premier Christy Clark. The problem is, my age, 49, and my disability make it extremely hard to get a good fit. I would be an awesome counsellor or on call consultant, but I don’t have the funds to get started. Is there a program that could set me up in my own business so that I can dictate the hours I work and the contracts I take depending on my health status?
I’ve worked at Food Basics going on years now. Just this year I’ve had 2 complaints where I got suspended and when I returned to work the second complaint got me discharged. I have Epilepsy which they knew all these years and my medication can make me moody as well as other side effects, the are blaming my issues on a bad attitude. Stress not being good for Epilepsy the have me on the Express Counter. They complain I don’t scan as many items per minute as the younger kids, where I’m 52 and all my meds. cause drowsiness. I’m also going through menopause, they just laugh at me. A customer wanted to leave 2 foil containers for cooking at Express. We sell the same items and they could have been return with the other goods to go on the shelf so I asked for a receipt I’d put it in there and the girls wouldn’t take it. She left and called the boss, I was suspended for protecting the customer and the store. Then we had 710ml. bottles of pop in six packs on sale limit 4 per customer. A customer came through with 12 cases and I politely told her the limit is 4 per customer per day I also showed her where it said limit 4 in the flyer. She said she needed 12, there were other customers behind her with 4 pop saying the same thing to her. She left and complained to my boss. I then got a discharge untill I don’t when or why when I’ve been there so long was doing my job properly and feel they are trying to get rid of me due to Epilepsy and side effects of my medicine. I’m now making no income and find it very hard looking for work not letting employers know I have Epilepsy so they are prepared if something should happen. What can I do?
When it comes to having a disability it is very very hard to get assistance from the gov’t. It takes alot of months, then you will problaby have to appeal. So then you are waiting more months. They don’t want anyone to get ahead. Then it will be, well, we will give you this, and you can do that. But if you do this, then they will taken off the money they give you. If they even tried to live off the money that we recieve they could not do it in a million yrs expecially if they had a disability. Unfortunatly there isn’t much we can do.
When it comes to having a disability it is very very hard to get assistance from the gov’t. It takes alot of months, then you will problaby have to appeal. So then you are waiting more months. They don’t want anyone to get ahead. Then it will be, well, we will give you this, and you can do that. But if you do this, then they will taken off the money they give you. If they even tried to live off the money that we recieve they could not do it in a million yrs expecially if they had a disability. Unfortunatly there isn’t much we can do.