Marcy's Story

Marcy*, who lives in Ottawa, can recall a time ten years ago when, if she was told she’s have to rely on a food bank, she wouldn’t have believed it. For 25 years she worked in the technology sector—often on projects for the government—as a wide area network designer, and earned a very good wage.

After the birth of her son Trevor*, all that security was lost.

Trevor was born with Down Syndrome, which left his immune system exceedingly weak, and resulted in heart problems and various Autistic traits. As a single parent, Marcy did all she could for her son while trying her best to keep her job. With nine separate pathologists to meet with regularly, as well as many days she had to call in sick to tend to Trevor or be with him in the hospital—80 in total the first year alone—her boss, while sympathetic, had to let her go. Marcy was out of a job.

For the first four years, Marcy did all she could to survive on Ontario Works (OW) assistance, but the payments of $860 per month just weren’t enough. Marcy had to rely on her savings to pay for rent, utilities, and caregiver costs for Trevor. As a result of Trevor’s challenges, a highly qualified caregiver was required. As with many instances in life, quality comes at a high cost. Most months—especially in the winter when heating costs skyrocket—there was little, if any, money left over for food. Once her savings had been spent, Marcy made her first trip to a food bank. What she calls “a very humbling experience,” Marcy lined up with many others, who, like herself, had become a true victim of circumstance.

It was when she and Trevor moved into the neighbourhood of a new food bank that Marcy realized just how different each one can be: this one only provided her with one-third of the quantity of food, and the quality was compromised as well; most of what she received in her hamper were packaged goods—not things like eggs, milk or vegetables—and were also very high in sodium. “I’m trying to watch my sodium intake,” says Marcy, “I’m getting to the age when I have to start watching the amount of salt I eat or I’ll have even more problems to worry about down the road.”

When asked what she would like to see by way of changes made by the government, the first thing she says is, “a living wage. Living in poverty is a constantly humbling experience. It’s depressing when what used to be high quality sheets become threadbare, nice clothes get worn out, and there just isn’t the money to replace any of them. This is the beginning of ‘the welfare trap’ that many on social assistance of all forms speak of, and it’s really hard to claw your way out.” Just when I was about to ask another question to Marcy, she added, “Oh, one other thing. I would like to be able to live with dignity like I used to.”

I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

*Names have been changed to protect identity

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