Disability Tax Credit: One Section of Survival for Disabled Women
As if their plight were not already difficult enough many disabled women face the additional threat of physical, mental and even sexual abuse on an alarmingly regular basis according to a new article on cbc.com. This disturbing story relates the experiences of several disabled women who have experienced firsthand this incredibly dark side of human nature and begins with a sobering recitation of a sad reality:
In 2012, the National Survey on Disabilities found that 70 per cent of respondents with disabilities had experienced some abuse, most more than once. It also found that only a third of those abused ever reported it, with some afraid to talk about it because they worry about retaliation.
Abuse of disabled women is a growing problem recognized by governments the world over. It’s a problem that defies easy solutions since often times it is a disabled person’s caregiver that is the source of the abuse. That abuse can range from sexual assault to a more insidious form of torture chronicled in a posting on the website womenshealth.gov:
…women with disabilities usually are abused by someone they know… In addition, women with disabilities face the risk of abuse by health care providers or caregivers. Caregivers can withhold medicine and assistive devices, such as wheelchairs or braces. They can also refuse to help with daily needs like bathing, dressing, or eating.
Often times the meager incomes of disabled women are reserved for paying for doctor’s visits, therapy sessions, the aforementioned assistive devices and medications. Many also have children that they must care for. As a result they often live in dangerous areas where rents are low but the threats are high. Other’s feel compelled to stay in abusive relationships for fear that breaking up with their abuser will leave them on the edge of a financial cliff with nowhere to turn.
The Disability Tax Credit Helps Disabled Women Avoid No-Win Situations
Many of Canada’s disabled women would not be forced to accept such dire living conditions were they able to take advantage of the Disability Tax Credit. The Disability Tax Credit is an initiative of the Canada Revenue Agency and exists solely to give disabled Canadians who find themselves faced with extraordinary medical costs a helping hand up. Often times this important program is all that stands between the fulfillment of basic needs and homelessness.
The Disability Tax Credit can provide up to $40,000 in annual aid to qualified persons. In addition if your application is approved you may be eligible to claim up to 10 years in retroactive benefits, a feature that has helped restore some semblance of normalcy to the lives a many embattled, disabled women from coast to coast.
Unfortunately, many disabled women are either unaware of the existence of the Disability Tax Credit or have simply given up trying to avail themselves of the program’s benefits after encountering the byzantine application and approval process. We believe no woman eligible for the Disability Tax Credit should be denied the assistance she needs or be rejected because her application may have contained some technical error that sent the bureaucratic red pens into overdrive.
When you enlist the help of Disability Credit Canada you are enlisting the help of one of Canada’s premier advocates for the disabled. We’ve helped scores of our disabled neighbors get the assistance they need to stay afloat and in some cases thrive in spite of their disability. Many have been able to keep their safe, familiar residences due to the program and our role in helping them do so is something we’re particularly proud of.
Call Disability Credit Canada today on 1-855-765-4458 and find out what we can do to help you secure the benefits you’re entitled to. Even if your application has been rejected in the past there is a good chance we can get the rejection reversed upon appeal. So don’t spend another day holed up inside a dangerous apartment or living in fear of an abusive relationship. Call us today and start the process of setting things right in your life. We can help you do that. It’s what we do.