Late welfare cheques worry housing group

The head of a non-profit housing association in Halifax says Canada Post is not delivering income assistance cheques on time, putting her clients at risk of homelessness.

Carol Charlebois is executive director of the Metro Non-Profit Housing Association, which runs an eviction prevention program for about 120 clients. Their social assistance cheques go straight to thegroup to ensure the rent and power bills ofclientsare paid on time.

'This whole thing could have caused and may still cause homelessness,' Carol Charlebois

But last month, some of those cheques arrived five days late.

"September was the worst month we've ever had," Charlebois told CBC News.

Charlebois said her clients are broke by the end of the month, so when 24 social assistance cheques didn't arrive, people panicked.

"It had an incredible effect on people, just really so stressful that it was affecting people's mental health," she said.

Charlebois said the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services assured her the cheques were in the mail. Canada Post had no explanation.

She said the cheques arrived the following Monday.

Charlebois is worried that some of her clients have already quit the program in the belief they'll do better on their own.

"They're all there because somehow money has been an issue for them in the past. If they took their money out of trusteeship out of this frustration, it could eventually lead to them being homeless again. So this whole thing could have caused and may still cause homelessness," she said.

Community Services says it's willing to work with the association to examine possible solutions, including direct deposit.

Canada Post says it'strying to track down the source of the delays, which may be related to modernization of sorting and delivery systems.

In the meantime, Charlebois worries about the next batch of cheques. She says only half of them arrived by Friday.